The Medic and the Demon
by Original Blue
Summary: GaaSaku. The caring medic who heals; the bloodthirsty demon who slays. Ah, young love. A series of one-shots; rated M to be safe.
1. Thicker Than Water

**It's a sickfic/darkfic, so please don't flame it for being creepy. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**This was written at some point during the first few days of school, not quite sure which periods I was sleeping through. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or I would have been writing it since I was in elementary school.**

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The Medic and the Demon

Chapter 1: Thicker Than Water

by Rachel Poulson

––––––––––

She hurt.

They'd said that the disease would have very little effect other than perpetual anemia and low blood sugar. They hadn't mentioned the coughing. Or the vomiting. Her sink a permanent rust colored stain from the number of times she'd had to wash the blood off of her skin.

No one had mentioned the lightheadedness, or the inability to eat sweet foods. They'd told her what was absolutely necessary; in other words, nothing at all. She knew her parents had been government biochemists. She knew that her mother had contracted an untested strain of disease during the pregnancy. Sakura knew that she was constantly fighting the cure they had put into her infant body; she'd been allergic to one of the components. Sakura knew that her survival depended on her strength of will. Sakura knew that her time was almost up.

Sakura shook.

As they handed over the deeds to her parents' house, her hands had trembled quietly with anger. At the age of fourteen, when she'd systematically broken all of the windows in her house, her eyes had barely flickered as the glass sliced open her hands. The dress she'd worn to her grandmother's funeral: gone, tossed on the blazing remains of the psychiatric hospital of her youth. Her thoughts were cool, unwavering as her shaking hands were trapped in handcuffs for the first time.

There was blood.

Always blood, so much blood, every day...

The first time it had happened at school, she'd been mildly surprised. She'd been smoking a joint behind the new bleachers by the football field when she'd felt a warm drip on her collarbone. Creeping silently from the corner of her mouth was a steady stream of warm blood. She'd braced herself against the metal beams, dropped her joint and thrown up. Then the blood trickled from her nostrils, pooling in the creases on her vermillion–stained palms. Tentatively, aware that her head was throbbing, she'd raised a finger to her lips and licked it.

Blood. Sharp, bittersweet and unlike anything else she knew.

It tasted like sorrow.

Suddenly she knew why her father had killed himself. To see the blood pooling spreading through the water, cradling the warm flesh from whence it came.

No one had told Sakura anything about the sick pain radiating from her heart.

––

The first day she'd met him, she'd been almost nervous. She'd smoothed her pink locks down, tucking them all behind her ears; all except her blunt bangs, chopped to eye–level by a pair of gardening shears. As he passed, his aqua eyes had been drawn inexplicably to hers. The numerous piercings through both the flesh and cartilage of his ears, combined with the scarlet ink of his tattoos, did nothing to ease the tension that grew between them. He sat on the other of the classroom, hung out with all the popular kids, he even played a sport.

But he stayed so late after school that Sakura had to wonder about his family and his home life. She knew he had an older brother and sister, who lived in Suna with their father. He'd been 'transferred' rather than expelled.

Why was he so...jagged? Almost as though he didn't quite fit around the edges.

And if you pushed him hard enough, his mask would break apart.

––

They had P.E. together, 7th period and were normally the last two out of the adjoined gyms. She was usually taking acid in the bathroom and he was putting all of his piercings back in. Their paths rarely intersected. That is until their P.E. teacher made the mistake of locking the gym doors too early.

"Let us out!"

"I can't die in here with him!"

Their shouts went unheard through the empty campus.

After trying every possibility, including breaking a window, they'd sat down and he'd offered her a cigarette.

"Want one? It's cinnamon."

Quite calmly, feeling the rough scars on her hands brush together, she'd replied, "Tired of pretending, Gaara?"

His expression of frustrated amusement had immediately turned to rage, and she'd dodged every blow he threw, hearing his fists thud into the lockers behind her. She'd felt it then, crouched behind the last row; the unmistakable flavor of sleep and death enveloping her senses. As he'd approached her, glowering, all she could do was feel the blood forcing itself from between her lips and coursing over her pale chin.

Slowly, not taking her apple–green eyes from him, she'd sunk to the floor, tears mingling with blood. He'd crouched beside her limp form, expression unfathomable.

She was broken inside, burning with every passing second.

Sakura's eyes, starting to flutter shut, opened wide when he brushed a fingertip over her upper lip. She watched him lick the crimson liquid coating his finger and close his eyes, sighing.

"It's sweet," he said quietly, cupping her cheek in his free hand.

She almost shuddered at Gaara's touch, a bubble bursting on her lip. Hesitantly but firmly, he pressed his mouth to hers, and she felt his tongue sample the sticky substance pouring from her lips. She coughed, expelling more of the liquid from her lungs. He raised their hands, intertwined and soaked with blood. She watched his greedy expression as she let the last of it fall onto his lips and her eyes rolled up.

Darkness, filled with the clear tang of blood, filled Sakura.

––

The first time he'd seen her, he'd nearly lost control. Vivid pink hair and eyes the color of gemstones. Inside, he'd felt the creature pacing, eyes glowing yellow through the blackness. It had taken all of his willpower to calmly walk past, but he couldn't ignore the way his heart was thudding against his ribcage. He'd tried not to see her. He'd tried not to notice the way she cringed as she blew smoke rings behind the library steps. He'd tried not to stare when she unflinchingly cut her finger in biology class to test her blood type.

He knew it was wrong, it was too dangerous. _He_ was too dangerous.

When he remembered the way Shukaku had taken over the last time, it made him shudder. Disgust, fear and uncontrollable craving had flooded his senses when he'd realized they were locked in the gym together. Those simple words... How did she know his triggers?

And her blood...

She tasted like sorrow.

––

The white of the hospital was a familiar sight; the head of flaming hair was not. The moment her pale, translucent eyelids flicked open, he sat up frowning.

"You're sick," he said when she'd coughed some more blood into a basin next to the bed. Sakura wiped her mouth on the sheets, marring their perfect cleanliness.

As she swung her bare legs out of the sterile bed, ignoring the I.V. in her arm, he moved to grip her arms. His harsh eyes flickered with an odd yellow light. "So are you," she whispered, feeling droplets of blood roll over her flesh.

"We're both sick."


	2. All Dolled Up

**It's a funfic/NarutoUniversefic, the first I think I've ever done. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**I wrote this first as a series of notes jotted in my science notebook, and then I turned it into a full–fledged chapter. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. NO BUTS.**

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The Medic and the Demon

Chapter 2: All Dolled Up

by Rachel Poulson

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"I'm what?"

Sakura yelped as another needle was poked into the flesh covering her spine. _I'm going to kill Naruto for suggesting acupuncture!_ The pale ivory of her back was dotted with tiny drops of blood from miniscule wounds.

She turned her head, rosy hair pinned under a metallic net. The busty blonde next to her seemed unfazed, eyes closed as the acupuncturist slid another set through her skin. "You're going to Suna," Tsunade calmly continued, "And I expect you to be nice about it. This is an involuntary break; the Rookie Nine been training so hard lately that I feel a nice vacation is in order. Team 10 and Team Guy are already there, so you won't be totally alone. You and the rest of your team will be staying in the Kazekage's compound, so I'm sure you'll be nothing other than pleasant." Her voice had sweetened until it was almost painful to listen to, lest sparkles and rainbows appear.

Another needle went in and the pinkette let out a slow, deep breath. "I'll be epitome of graciousness, Tsunade–sama," her lips formed the words with slight disgust, "Now who in hell do you want us to guard in Suna?" _Or kill? _she added silently.

_**Bitch! She's obviously already had a bottle of sake and it isn't even noon. Why is she even suggesting this? We're shinobi; our job is to fight, not socialize!**_

Mutely, Sakura agreed with her Inner Self.

"Oh, but Sakura, that would defeat the point of a vacation!" Mock horror entered her voice and the female Sannin winked at her student. "Remember me when you're passing the red light district. It wouldn't kill you to loosen up for a night."

Sakura shuddered. "I'll bring you back some alcohol if you promise to never say that again, drunk or sober." Tsunade nodded enthusiastically and pressed her face into the fluffy towel as her acupuncturist pulled the slivers of metal from her back.

_**Stress relieving, my ass.**_

Gritting her teeth, the pink haired girl did the same. As much as it killed her, she respected her teacher enormously and would do whatever she thought was necessary. As long as she wore lots and lots of sunscreen, everything would be fine.

––

The wind was bliss as it blew steadily across her face. She'd grown tired of the stifling abundance of life that surrounded Konoha. It was nice to be in the endless expanse of desert known as the Land of Wind. They'd timed their departure so that they would reach the desert at night, further speeding their journey through the harsh conditions.

"Come on, Sai! Hurry up!" Naruto waved the newest member of their team forward. Ever since Kakashi had been promoted to ANBU captain, they'd gained one of ANBU Root's trainees, Sai.

"Maybe if you weren't prancing around like an idiot, I wouldn't be staying away from you," he muttered, checking his main summoning scroll as he accelerated. The Jinchuuriki shot him a dirty look.

Sasuke, as usual, was silent during their exchange. His intensive training with Kakashi had left him with fully realized sharingan; Tsunade had not seen fit to take formal action, especially since he privately allowed every village elder to place a seal upon him that could be activated by the Hokage in times of uncertainty. If he was ever suspected of betrayal, he would be entirely unable to focus chakra and bound by a paralysis jutsu, whereupon ANBU would gouge his eyes out. As it was, he rarely ventured out of the Land of Fire's borders unless accompanied by all three of his teammates.

When they'd all reunited after nearly two years of training, Sakura had been surprised to find that her feelings for him romantically had completely dissipated. Too long had he been a mix of memory and imagination. Too long had he been the cause of pain in her life. Too long had he been someone who made her feel worthless. And though her affection for him had reinstated itself, it was now completely on the basis of friendship.

Sakura shook her head and directed more chakra into her legs, speeding ahead and twirling through the air. As she ran, she consulted her memory for the map that showed the most direct route to Suna. She hummed softly, fingers fluttering as sand was caught up in the slight airflow. The home of the Kazekage came into their view just as the sun rose in the east, casting brilliant shadows in shades of gold.

––

"Sakura! You're here!"

Once the bone–crushing hugs from Temari had ended, and Sakura had finally been able to breathe slightly, Kankuro had attempted to give her the same treatment as his sister. A warning look was enough to have him settle for a handshake. Well, that and flexing a heavily muscled forearm.

"We'll take you guys out tonight; Temari, you can take Sakura and I'll get the guys settled in, okay?" Kankuro was already walking off in the direction of Suna's red–light district. "When can I see Gaara?" Naruto asked, already jogging to catch up. "It's been forever..." His voice faded.

Temari shook her head in disgust and grabbed Sakura's arm, transporting them both into the Kazekage's tower. Sakura gasped; she'd never liked being moved by other people.

As the sand from their transport dispersed, the pink haired girl stumbled forward and smacked into someone, who immediately caught her. "Oh, gomenasai–!" she stuttered, straightening up.

Then she noticed that it was the Kazekage.

Her stomach dropped like a stone and her face turned an interesting shade of puce. _I'm dead, _she thought, as she regained her place by Temari's side. _I just haven't bothered to lie down._ Gaara was looking at her, slightly bemused.

"It's alright," he intoned, voice deeper than she remembered. "There was no harm meant."

Temari smiled at him and Sakura nodded silently. For years she'd been afraid of him, overawed by his insane strength and fragile mental stability. Then he'd become friends with Naruto. Slowly that fear had turned to admiration and even respect. It looked like he'd finally found peace.

Smiling slightly, Temari shook honey–colored hair out of her eyes. "Gaara, I just wanted to ask if you want to come out to a party with us later. They're holding it over on Hanomi Street, by the bar..." Temari's voice faded and she bit her lip. Then her little brother nodded. "I'm sure it will be enjoyable." He politely excused himself and disappeared in a whirl of sand. Almost sighing in relief, Temari led Sakura to the spas, where they relaxed for the rest of the day.

––

Just before the sun started to set Temari woke Sakura. She had been napping on Temari's bed, overcome by the immense heat, while Temari went shopping for suitable party clothes.

"Look at these," the Suna blonde gushed, "Isn't this dress beautiful?"

And Sakura was forced to agree that it was gorgeous in every way. What she did not agree to was being stuffed into it.

"Temari," she wailed, "It looks terrible on me! Plus it's so cliché to wear cherry blossoms. You should wear it," she added desperately, "Since there's absolutely no way I can pull this off!"

And of course Temari, being who she was, ignored the other kunoichi's cries and made her keep it on. She also shoved her into a pair of shoes with a two inch heel and painted her toes pink. Sakura sulked as her friend applied silver eyeshadow and glitter to her lips, pinning her hair with two wooden chopsticks. "That's not so bad, is it?" Temari asked when she was finished tucking stray locks into place.

Then something happened that can only be described as a miracle; Sakura admitted defeat. "It's perfect," she muttered and Temari beamed. Scowling, Sakura stood and helped Temari into _her_ dress, which was even shorter than Sakura's and completely green.

Sakura raised one pink eyebrow at this. "Hoping to attract someone's attention?" she asked as she brushed shimmer over her eyes. Temari blushed and turned away, making it hard for Sakura to hear her mumble:

"Nara."

It took everything Sakura had not to burst out laughing.

A few minutes later, Ino and Tenten arrived, out of breath and towing their teams behind them. Kankuro brought Team 7, and the girls all helped them straighten up. Sakura noticed that Ino fussed a bit too much about Sai's impeccable appearance and Tenten had to visibly refrain from stroking Neji's hair, which had been tied back. Temari avoided any trouble with Shikamaru by focusing on her brothers, smacking them one by one as she carefully explained how to tie a tie _without_ an excessive use of duct tape.

Finally, 'All dolled up' as Naruto said, they made their way towards Hanomi Street and towards the party.

––

To be fair, they'd been under a lot of stress.

High level missions and constant intelligence work for six months did that to a person. In this case, it did it to ten people. They were all wired and exhausted from the constant threat of enemies, and they felt they deserved a break.

At least, after the third round of sake, they did.

The party was going in full swing around midnight. Ino and Sai were nowhere to be found. Tenten had challenged Kankuro to a drinking contest and they were passed out on a couch in the back. While Neji and Lee spoke about the possibility of cake for breakfast, Chouji was surrounded by fangirls who wanted to know if he could make _everything_ bigger. Temari had decided to keep it toned down; her make–out fest with Shikamaru only lasted until he found the keys to his hotel room.

That left Sakura drinking at the counter between her teammates, singing the bawdy songs in perfect harmony. Sasuke and Naruto were grinning, or in one case smirking, broadly and downing shots like there was no tomorrow. Anyone could see that it was only a matter of time before the pinkette fell off her barstool from giggling at their rude jokes.

And when she fell, her pale limbs slipping backwards almost gracefully, he was there to catch her.

She blinked up at him, seeing his pale jade eyes rimmed with shadows. "Gaara–kun!" she said, twisting and hanging off of him drunkenly. The Kazekage smiled; he wasn't exactly sober either. Then he noticed how flush she was from the suffocating room and quickly helped her outside.

"You're so cute, Gaara–kun," she declared once he'd set her down next to a planter. "I think you're the cutest little Tanuki ever!" Sniggering, she pulled on his robe, indicating that he should sit next to her. He complied, eyes slightly too bright from alcohol.

"Can I have a pony, Gaara–kun?" he nodded and she linked her arm through his, attempting to stand only to fall back on her butt. "Let's go then! The ponies await us!" Sakura stared at him for a moment, their faces only inches apart and identical stupid grins on their faces. She tapped his nose. "I like you, Gaara. You're nice." Wobbling slightly, she slung an arm around his neck and gestured wildly with her other hand. "You have all of this," she said loudly, "But you still don't act like a snob." Giggling softly, she cupped his face in her hand and drew it close to hers. "Not anymore, Kazekage–sama! You used to, though. I remember from when you were still weird, and Naruto had to hit you on the head with a giant toad to make you normal!" He smiled lazily at her laughter and pulled her into a kiss.

Sakura pulled back after a moment, arms wound around his neck as she yelled, "I WUV YOU, GAARA!" And somehow he could hear the block caps in her voice.

––

The sheets were so soft...

_**Go back to sleep,**_ her Inner Self muttered and turned over in her immaterial bed.

Disregarding the voice, Sakura shifted, feeling warm hands around her torso. Mumbling rude things about blonde teammates who couldn't keep their hands to themselves, she turned over and opened her eyes. When she saw Gaara looking back, she yelped and sat up.

It was then that she discovered that she wasn't wearing any clothes, and neither was he. She blushed and pulled a pillow towards her torso, clutching the necklace at her throat.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

Gaara had propped himself up on one elbow and was watching her carefully. He had withdrawn his arm from her stomach as she moved and he raked a hand through his scarlet hair. In a rush, the events of the previous night came back and she flushed more deeply, mortified.

"I, um..." she was crimson to the roots of her very pink hair. "I don't know what to say, we were drinking and I..."

She trailed off, wincing as her memory returned piece by piece. Then she looked around. "Where are we?"

Gaara climbed out of the bed, pulling on a pair of boxers and ambling over to the window, where he opened the shade; Sakura gasped as the light spilled in.

"This is my bedroom," he explained and she nearly fainted.

They were in the Kazekage's tower.

––

Team 7 was the last to depart from Suna two weeks later. Temari had threatened to blackmail Sakura if she didn't write and Kankuro handed packages to the Konoha boys. "For the trip home," he'd said with a wink and Sakura had nearly gagged.

Gaara wasn't present for their departure; he and Sakura had said their goodbyes earlier, and there was no point in prolonging the pain. But as he stood in his room in the tower of the Kazekage and watched the team sprinting out over the sands, he thought he could detect her unique scent of cherry blossoms.

He smiled, knowing she would return eventually.

_I'll wait._


	3. Weakness

**It's a fluffyfic that I just had to get out of my system. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Wrote it in the middle of the night and expanded on it. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: If the world were perfect I would own Naruto; alas, the world is not perfect (ahem, orange argyle & paisley pants still exist).**

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The Medic and the Demon

Chapter 3: Weakness

by Rachel Poulson

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Gaara gripped the edge of the table and reflected on how he'd gotten himself into such a mess. He'd been meaning to do it while she was gone, but...he'd never seemed to have the time or inclination. Now the matter was almost out of hand. If he didn't do something soon, it might interfere during a mission; or worse, his carefully gained social life. His girlfriend was a pissed off kunoichi who'd just come home from an exhausting mission to the Mist and found her jinchuuriki boyfriend avoiding her. Right now, he'd rather be anyone else.

"Now, Sakura," he began.

_SNIP._

Gulping, he looked around wildly for something to use in self defense.

_SNIP._

Damn her for knowing his weaknesses, which added up to a total of four.

_SNIP._

His siblings.

_SNIP._

His cacti.

_SNIP._

Pistachio ice cream.

_SNIP._

And her.

_SNIP._

Sweating slightly, he raised his hands in what he thought was a complacent manner. "Truce, Sakura!" She stepped back, hands propped on her hips and scissors gripped tightly. Her civilian clothes were slightly mussed, and she'd been wearing an apron while she did some cooking. Then she'd caught sight of him sneaking in through the back door.

_SNIP._

Squinting suspiciously at him, Sakura said, "What kind of truce? The kind where your surrender willingly?" Sweeping her into a hug while trying to avoid being impaled was no mean feat. He kissed her rosy hair softly. "This kind," he mumbled, overcome by her scent, "The kind where we kiss and make up."

Wrong thing to say.

She elbowed him in the stomach and kept a firm grip on his collar with one hand. Sakura dragged him into the kitchen, sat him down and ignored his helpless look. "You're not making this very easy," he began and she spun around, holding a damp towel in one hand and scissors in the other.

_SNIP._

He gulped, looking at the gleaming pair of blades.

_SNIP._

"Three months I was gone," she thundered, looming in a way that only Tsunade's student could, "And I come home to this?" Gesturing in his direction with one hand, she put the towel down and advanced on her lover.

"There are some things a man has to do on his own–"

She snorted, cutting him off. "Alone my ass! Isn't it important to have someone else there, if only for the sake of your appearance? A mirror isn't everything!" He cleared his throat. "I'm perfectly capable–" She slammed her scarred fist into the counter, making the china jump even without a chakra infusion. "I know you're perfectly capable! The problem isn't capability, it's willingness!" She picked up the towel and glared down at him.

"Now hold still, Kazekage–sama. You're getting a haircut whether you like it or not!"

_SNIP._


	4. For the Record

**It's just some randomfic–age that needed to be done. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Wrote it in the middle of the night and expanded on it. I've read so many SasuSaku fics that GaaSaku needed its chance to pwn the multiverse. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: What was that? Do I own Naruto? Pssh, is Spock from Argentina?

* * *

**

The Medic and the Demon

Chapter 4: For the Record

by Rachel Poulson

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Sakura liked flowers.

You planted them in good soil, watered them once in a while and they grew. Her parents, away most of the time on missions, had allowed her to turn their backyard into a giant garden. Now, years after their deaths, it was where she spent most of her free time in Konoha. It occurred to the kunoichi that flowers were common, reliable and pretty. In fact, they were practically boys with leaves. That was why twenty–five year old Haruno Sakura had gone for the men, who were rare, intelligent and handsome. Not to mention much more loveable.

"Mommy!"

She looked up from a cluster of dahlias to see Momori wave, standing in the gate on the side of the house. "Mommy, come look at what Kami can do!" Setting down her trowel and stripping her gardening gloves from her hands, Sakura got to her feet just as a shiver ran through the ground. Momo called to her from the front yard as she stalked forward. "Mommy, come on!"

In front of her parents' house was the home of several sakura trees whose petals were just beginning to litter the ground, although Sakura suspected that was more from her children's antics than the change of season. In normal circumstances, the yard was beautiful shady refuge from the driving heat of summers in Konoha. These were not normal circumstances and Sakura was aghast. She propped her hands on her hops and glared at the twin girls, who had the decency to look slightly guilty.

"Kami, Momo, go wash up while I take care of this," she said with a sigh as she ran a tired hand through her thick pink locks. By 'this' she meant the gaping hole that Konami had blown in the middle of her parents' front yard.

"Still overly sensitive, I see," drawled a cool voice behind her. Sakura spun, her fists already clenched.

"Sasuke." He stood on the edge of the lawn, hands shoved in his pockets and classic smirk adorning his face.

"Why are you here?" Her quiet question was an encompassment of everything she'd been through in the dozen or so years since his defection.

His answer made her feel like the years had never passed, like they were still children locked in the world of ninjas. "Isn't it obvious? I wanted to see you." She snorted. "Just because the Hokage wants the Uchiha clan to be revived doesn't mean I have to be your friend. You're an ass. Go away." When he didn't move, she sighed. "Listen, I have to go in and make lunch for those two before they tear the house apart, so why don't you just leave now?"

Sasuke merely yawned, irritating her further. "Just because you're their teacher doesn't mean you have to coddle them. Anyways, aren't they a little young to be genin?"

Sakura stared at him, surprised that he hadn't seen the resemblance. _Although,_ she silently supposed, _their heads of scarlet hair attest mostly to their father_. Once in a while, when the girls played in the dying sun of Suna for hours, their hair would lighten to match hers; but spending this spring in Konoha meant that darkened crimson still dominated their thick tresses.

"They're not genin," she said at last and he raised his eyebrows in interest.

"Chunin, already? Maybe they should be transferred to a more...suitable teacher to expand on their talents."

The insult was not lost on her. Fists clenched and nostrils flaring, Sakura kept her eyes on the Uchiha while she focused on not losing her temper.

"They're not my students. They're my children."

Abruptly, his face darkened and his onyx eyes flew to some point behind her. Following his gaze, she saw her daughters sitting next to the window, faces pressed against the glass as they struggled to watch the exchange. Sasuke's shock quickly melted into something colder and his expression went blank before her eyes.

"I thought you would have waited for me, Sakura. While I was missing–nin I almost grew fond of the idea of you bearing my children." His eyes flicked to the kids inside once more. "So who's the lucky father? Naruto? Or don't you know who it was?"

He was sneering at her. He, who had deserted his village, his friends and her love, was sneering in her direction. The medic shook with barely concealed rage.

"Are you implying I'm a whore?" Her delicate features were a schooled stoic as he shrugged infuriatingly. "I'm implying that I see no wedding ring."

Once again, Sakura resisted the voice in her head screaming for blood.

Tugging off the jacket that restricted her movements, she tied it around her waist, unaware of how the Uchiha greedily studied her pale limbs. Then she began walking towards the house, determined to ignore the jerk that'd had the nerve to insult her while trying to seduce her.

"You should talk to Naruto," she advised as she strode further away from him, "He's been waiting to pummel you for a decade. You can probably find him at Ichiraku's, or the Hokage's tower if you hurry." She'd nearly reached the door when a strong arm snaked around her waist. She froze mid–step, thoughts churning.

"I'd let you pummel me if you wanted," he remarked and she realized how much she hated his hot breath against her skin. "I'd let you do a lot more."She shook her head with a firm, "No."

_Why did he come back?_ she wondered incredulously. _For me? Did he really return just to tell me that he wants me to have his babies?_

"If you don't leave now, I'll call their father; you really don't want that." His only response was to pull her closer and stroke one of her trembling arms. "Who is he?" Sasuke purred, "Who is this man that you would call to save you? Is he a shinobi? Why wouldn't I want him here? Is it possible that you think I would fear him?" Lips pressed into the nape of her neck.

She glared at the nearest trees, thanking them for concealing this and wondering how she was going to avoid destroying them in anger.

"You won't want him here because unlike me, he isn't merciful."

He chuckled, the low dark sound echoing under boughs surrounded by palest pink.

"Why do you call this mercy?" The tip of his thin nose brushed across her ear and she sighed.

Then she turned around, faster than the eye could see, as rage fueled her actions. She quickly elbowed him in the face, breaking his perfect nose before punching him in the stomach with all of her chakra–reinforced might. It was so satisfying, the feel of bone and cartilage breaking under her knuckles. Maybe she'd try it again sometime, just for kicks.

There was a crash from across the street as the Uchiha flew through a wall, and yells from the harassed neighbors whose lunch he'd just interrupted. Sakura practically blurred as she flew to Sasuke's side, knowing that her excited daughters would follow more slowly. Though he lay groaning amidst the debris, spurting blood from his nose, she felt that one more kick wouldn't hurt him.

Damn that thing her parents had given her; it was called a conscience. So instead of physically kicking the crap out of an injured comrade, she settled for jabbing his eyes out verbally.

"I call this mercy because Gaara wouldn't have let you live."

She nudged one of his broken ribs with sadistic pleasure and he whimpered. Okay, so maybe she was pissed enough to ignore all sense of decorum. "For the record, when someone says no, it usually means no."

"Whore," he gasped and she moved back to meet her breathless children.

"No," she answered firmly, placing a arm around each of her daughters. "Suna marriages aren't represented with rings." She held out her palm so he could see the scar at the base of her thumb, embedded in the thick ball of flesh. "We marked in blood."

Her voice rose to a sugary impersonation of a teacher, taking on an instructor's qualities of standard education.

"Okay, girls! Who can tell us what you learned from today?" Momori's hand shot up first and Konami sulked as their mother let her speak. "Don't attack or try to seduce married women!" Sakura nodded and gestured that it was Kami's turn. "Don't piss mom off when dad's not around to calm her down." Nodding her satisfaction, the proud mother glanced at Sasuke, who was giving her an look of pure disbelief.

"You're all insane–"

His head slumped backwards as Kami slugged him on the chin. Wincing, Sakura gave her youngest daughter 'The Look'. Staring defiantly back, green eyes a mirror of her mother's, she grumbled:

"He had it coming."

With a sigh, Haruno Sakura led her children out, promising her neighbors compensation and making a mental note to have Naruto pick up their former teammate. However good Kami's intentions might have been, the Uchiha would still be out for a few hours.

Besides, even the Hokage–in–Training deserved some fun once in a while.

* * *

**Continued in Chapter 36.**


	5. The Hard Way

**It's just an AU fic that was brought into my head by the prospect of getting invited to prom. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Written at around midnight, so please excuse the odd plot and/or title. I think people liked the last chapter more, so I'll be writing more 'In Naruto Universe' chapters. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I decline to comment except to say that I do not in any way own Naruto.**

* * *

The Medic and the Demon

Chapter 5: The Hard Way

by Rachel Poulson

––––––––––

"You moron!"

"You didn't say even anything to me!"

"Why in hell did you leave?"

She screamed into the phone, empty fist striking the plastic window of the phone booth.

"You fucking idiot!"

He heard her fist thug against the wall on the other end of the line. "Sakura, why are you calling?"

There was a moment where only the steady beat of rain outside broke the thickening silence.

Then, green eyes flickering with anger, she savagely kicked her backpack, which lay abandoned in the corner. "You changed schools because I wouldn't go to the prom with you?!"

He winced, shoving his free hand into the pocket of his jeans. "Sakura, please listen–"

He heard the creaking as her palm nearly crushed the phone. "No, you listen to me, Sabaku Gaara; just because I refuse to go to the prom with you doesn't mean you need to leave the city. For Christ's sake, you didn't even say goodbye!" She snarled at nothing particular, pale fists ready to beat the crap out of anything in her field of vision. "The prom is for idiots. Only lovey–dovey couples and loners without dates even bother to show up!"

On the other end, Gaara snorted. "Well, I guess that's one way of putting it."

"It's true! No one in their right mind would want to go! Well, maybe Ino, but she's got her hands full with Choji, Sai and Shika."

He let out a strangled laugh which he quickly turned into a cough. "I don't think Shikamaru will be much of a problem for Ino tonight."

That made Sakura pause. "Why not?"

"Because Temari had her hands full with him earlier."

The pink haired girl gasped and winced at his rude humor. "Gaara, that's so gross! And it's ridiculous. They hate each other's guts! Don't be so horrible to me, or I'll tell Temari!"

He chuckled. "I'm not joking. Temari cooked for him this morning."

Sakura groaned, slumping back against the cold plastic of the side of the phonebooth. "You're joking. Haven't we warned her enough? Besides, the only thing she knows how to make halfway decently is SpagghettiOs, from a can."

"It wasn't too bad this time. She only set fire to the drapes, the microwave and that pink apron you bought her."

She looked crestfallen. "Damn it! I knew I should have bought the flame–resistant one!"

What sounded like a smothered snort came from the other end. Sakura's fingers twitched in annoyance as she remembered that she was mad at her boyfriend. "I'm still not going to the prom," she said.

He replied quietly after a moment. "And I'm still not taking you."

Sakura scowled, glancing at the dark sky and shivering against the cold wind that was pervading the streets of Konoha.

Did that mean he was taking someone else? Was he never coming back? Why hadn't he said anything to her? Did she mean anything to him at all? Was their carefully cultivated relationship going up in flames? Maybe he was taking Matsuri...

"Goddamn it, Gaara! Get your ass back as soon as fucking possible! We're going to the motherfucking prom!" She slammed the phone onto the receiver without giving him a chance to reply. Then she picked up her backpack, which was soaked from the rainwater crowding the streets.

The lights were dim; she could still make out the cars darting along the major street and making hazardous turns onto the freeway. The rain wasn't helping much, but she thought she recognized the public bus speeding towards her. Sakura waited until the light had changed before dashing across the street to the bus stop, jacket held over her head in a last–ditch attempt to stay dry.

She'd have to borrow something from Ino;s wardrobe... Gaara better count his lucky stars that she and Ino wore almost the same size.

The bus pulled up, brakes screeching to a halt. She fumbled her bus pass out and scanned it once the driver had opened the doors. Shivering slightly, she sat down and pulled out a cigarette lighter. The flame flickered in the damp air and her hands shook a little, but she managed to light one and shove the pack back into her pocket. Breathing in and out, she ignored the people who filed onto the bus at the next stop; that is, until someone sat next to her.

"Excuse me–" she began and stopped short as he turned around, light eyes mischievous.

"Miss me?" Gaara asked, spiked red hair glistening from the rain.

She gasped.

"Oh you bastard–"

He enveloped her in a kiss, ignoring her muffled complaints until she stopping slapping him long enough to enjoy the kiss. He pressed an equally finger to her lips and returned her glare passively. "No arguing. There's no way in hell I'm letting you go to the prom with someone else. Do you want the easy way or the hard way? It's entirely up to you."

Finally overcoming her shock, she backhanded him and grinned. She grabbed him by the front of his jacket.

"The hard way."

Their lips met again.


	6. Soapsuds and Cherry Blossoms

**I've been doing a lot of laundry and taking the bus, so this is the result. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**I'm not even sure when or where I wrote this. Oh, wait. I was sitting here like a moron, trying avoid my English homework, when the idea hit me. I was obligated to work on it for hours. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I like working in my PJs and writing disclaimers. I don't own Naruto. ^^**

* * *

The Medic and the Demon

Chapter 6: Soapsuds and Cherry Blossoms

by Rachel Poulson

––––––––––

"Why are we in Konoha again?" Temari asked bitterly, "We could be doing something useful in Suna right now."

"Awe, calm down. The weather's nice, there are reports to be handed in and plus Gaara's treating us to dinner right?" Kankuro said with a grin, nudging his brother with an elbow.

"Ai." His voice, quiet as usual, only added fuel to the fire.

"This is so stupid! I could be practicing, or making a new fan..." Temari continued sourly.

She had been using the same arguments over the past two days as they sped out of the desert. Gaara knew that perhaps there were things in Suna that needed his attention, and maybe they could have been taken care of earlier, but he also knew why his sister was so annoyed with being in Konoha. The Yamanaka family had recently proposed a marriage between Ino and Shikamaru of the Nara clan. While Temari refused to admit that she liked Shikamaru, she also politely declined to attend the wedding.

"Gaara, do you mind if I go out? Tenten promised to beat me in a food fight if I dared to show my face." He grinned savagely, already looking forward to the challenge.

The Kazekage looked around their apartment. "I don't mind at all. I might be out later, so don't wait up." His older brother nodded. "See you tomorrow morning, Gaara."

The door shut after him and Gaara was left feeling strangely alone. He could hear Temari in the next room massacring the punching bag they'd installed, but he felt like he was a thousand miles away from her.

"Temari, I'll be back later." There was a heavy thud and she peeked out to look at him. "Okay, Gaara. Will you be okay for dinner?"

He nodded, embarrassed at how much his sister cared. She smiled at his slight blush and ducked back into her room, cracking her knuckles in preparation. The former Jinchuuriki heard a war cry. Then came a cracking noise, much louder than the others, which made him grin in satisfaction; she'd broken the punching bag in half.

Gaara made his way out of the apartment and onto the streets, shoving his hands into his pockets and whistling silently as the sun set behind the village gates.

"Sakura–chan!"

The paired haired kunoichi looked up from her desk where she was cleaning her kunai. Oniyowa Hani, the little blonde girl from across the street, was waving to her through an open window.

"How's it going, Hani? Where's your mom?"

"She's doing the laundry; do you want to help? You can bring your laundry too!"

Carefully setting down her tools, Sakura stood and grabbed a laundry basket; she'd been meaning to wash her clothes, but it always seemed to slip her mind.

"I'll be over in a second, Hani. Tell your mom thank you for me, okay?"

The little girl scampered up the stairs to her family's apartment, a huge grin plastered on her face. "Mommy, Sakura–chan is going to do laundry with us!"

Chuckling lightly at the girl's cheerful demeanor, she made her way to her stairs and locked her door, balancing the woven basket against one hip.

"Sakura–chaaan," Hani whined, "Are you coming?"

"I'm coming, Hani. Why don't you wait inside and help your mom?"

"Okay, Sakura–chan!" Her tiny feet pounded the wooden steps as she raced back upstairs.

Sakura crossed the street slowly, a smile resting on her lips. Ever since she'd moved into this apartment, she'd been treated like a daughter by Oniyawa Okano, Hani's mother. Hani's father had been a Jounin who was killed in battle, and Okano worked two jobs to make ends meet. Just as Sakura stepped up to the gate, she heard a voice behind her.

"Haruno Sakura."

She turned, blinking to make out the figure standing in front of her apartment. No, it couldn't be...

"Sabaku no Gaara?"

"Hai."

Her heart gave a stutter and her breath caught in her lungs. Had he always been so... handsome?

"I mean, um, Kazekage–sama, is there something I can do with you? I mean for you!" She flushed and he nodded.

"I was wondering if we could just... hang out?"

Sakura was shocked but quickly hid it, hearing the uncertainty in his voice. "Um, hang out?"

Gaara nodded.

"Well, uh, I'd love to, but I was going to help Hani and her mom with laundry..."

He nodded again. "I understand, you have a previous commitment. I would think less of you if you ignored that. Why don't I help you?"

Sakura sweat–dropped. Would the leader of Suna even know how to do laundry?

"I guess that's fine, I mean, if that's what you want." She fell silent, staring at the ground and shifting her grip on the basket until it was lifted out of her grip. She looked up to see Gaara shouldering the heavy bin and heading up the stairs to Hani's apartment. She hurried after him, nervous about what Okano would say. When they reached the top, Sakura realized that she needn't have worried.

"Hani, are you going to help me or not? You can't just bug the neighbors without some work on your part." The brunette wiped her forehead on the back of one gloved hand and looked up at her visitors with a grin.

"Oh, Sakura, you came! I'm really sorry about this, but Hani won't give me a moment's peace unless you're here." She sighed and smiled again. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Oniyawa Okano. Any friend of Sakura's is a friend of mine."

Okano held out her hand to Gaara. He didn't move until Sakura nudged him, already speaking as they shook hands. "Okano–sama, this is Sabaku no Gaara, a friend from Suna."

The woman sighed dreamily. "My husband was from Suna, you know. He always promised to take me back one day, and we never got the chance." A shadow passed over her face and was gone as quickly as it came. "Shall we get to work then?"

So it turned out that Sakura and Gaara were ushered into the laundry room as Okano hung clothes out to dry. "Hani, hand me that blue sweater, would you? Yes, that one. Thank you, sweetheart..."

Sakura started to put her stuff into one of the washers as Gaara got out the soap.

"So, how have things been in Suna?" She almost bit her tongue after it slipped out. Carefully she avoided looking at him as she stuffed some towels between the blades of the turbine.

"They've been... calm." It was true. There were no imminent wars or clan battles, so it had been deemed safe enough for Gaara to leave temporarily. He wondered if it was only because he knew Sakura so well that he had answered truthfully. His face crumpled in confusion as he thought about the difference in his replies, diplomatic and personal.

She chanced a peek at him, seeing from his expression that he hadn't really thought about her question until she posed it.

"How have Temari and Kankuro been? Are they here with you?"

"They've been fine, I guess. Temari is still avoiding Nara, and Kankuro is trying to woo Tenten. Yes, they're here with me. How is Naruto? His letters talked about the Hyuuga girl a lot..."

Gaara felt his cheeks burn. Uzumaki Naruto obviously didn't know that you weren't supposed to write about your love life in letters to male friends. He'd gone into such detail that Gaara had eventually begun to burn the letters on habit.

Sakura laughed at his slightly queasy expression. "Naruto's been fine," she assured him, "He's been bugging Tsunade to hurry up and resign so that he can be the Nanadaime Hokage already."

The former Jinchuuriki smiled briefly. "I'm glad to see that he's still the same idiot who tried to fight me when I cleaned out his fridge of instant ramen."

They chuckled at that, continuing to dump clothes into the machine. After a few minutes they had finished the bag and Sakura had adjusted the dial. She was about to turn it on when, glancing down at her dirty shirt, she sighed.

"Gaara, please turn that way." She gestured towards the door. _So what if he looks?_ Her Inner self shrieked, _He's the Kazekage! And you're finally noticing how _very_ male he is!_ She blushed, praying that Gaara hadn't suddenly learned how to read minds.

He looked at her blankly and she sighed again.

"Whatever, it's not like you care," she mumbled as she pulled her red shirt over her head and quickly lifted the lid of the washer, slipping in the blouse. But her heart ached slightly, knowing that he probably didn't. She crossed her arms and bit her lip, trying not to blush any more than strictly necessary.

He gaped at her inwardly, though his face was a schooled stoic. _She just took off her shirt. I should look away, it isn't decent, I shouldn't be allowed to see her like this..._ Before he knew what he was doing, he was standing in front of her.

"Gaara, hey, what are you–"

She gasped as his hands ghosted over her shoulders, chafing her smooth skin. _He's touching me, oh my god, he's touching me..._

"You look cold," he murmured, and her green eyes met his.

"Um, Gaara..." _Do it again, pretty please, just do it again–_

He tilted her chin upwards, making her gulp. "What?"

She could feel the metal behind her and knew that she was pressed between him and the washing machine, which was unfortunately vibrating as the blades spun within it. Sakura didn't know why her hands were pressed to his chest, or why she suddenly felt like he would be better off without it.

"Do you want me to stop?" She looked up as he spoke and nearly fainted. He was so close, mere inches away. His breath tickled her eyelashes and she wondered when he'd become so tall and intimidating. After Shikaku had been removed from him, Kankuro had apparently put Gaara through desert boot camp or, in other words, hell. She could see its results in the way muscle rippled under his pale, soft skin.

"No, I just..." She felt his hands slide over her waist, thumbs catching slightly on her hipbones. "...do that again." He obliged her and this time she stood on tiptoe to press her lips to his.

_Great,_ Sakura thought dizzily after a moment or two, _I'm making out with Gaara up against my neighbors' washing machine. Oh, and I don't have a shirt on._

Someone banged on the door, making them jump apart.

"Are you two done? I'm getting dinner started and you two can join us if you like."

When Sakura felt like she could talk without her voice cracking, she said, "We'll be out in a second, Okano–sama. We're just finishing up." They heard the woman continue down the hall, apparently carrying a crying Hani on one hip.

Gaara linked his fingers in his and she took a shuddering breath. "Wait a sec, Gaara." _Do I want to do this? Should I be doing this? Am I just fooling myself? Do I want him to kiss me again?_

His lips pressed into her neck and she felt his nose brush her ear. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

_Not a damn thing,_ her Inner yelled. _Score one for the home team!_

But Sakura pulled back anyway and looked him hard in the eye. "If I ever find out that you're doing this with someone else, I'll become guilty of murdering the Kazekage."

He chuckled, deep and throaty before kissing her.

_I really hope it doesn't come to that; he's a great kisser._

The buzzing against her back made Gaara notice the way she fit into his arms.

_And probably more._


	7. I Dare You 1, the GaaSaku Version

**READ ME!!!**

**This is the mainly GaaSaku version! The other one is the next chapter, with only implied GaaSaku, which is more of a Hurt/JealousyFic.**

**I couldn't resist this kind of AU, no matter the flames I may attract. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I'm extremely proud of my self-awareness and am so happy I don't own Naruto. XD**

**

* * *

**

The Medic and the Demon

**Chapter 7: I Dare You (GaaSaku Version)**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

"So how's this going to work?"

Sakura stood amidst her luggage, arms crossed as she looked at the dark–haired boy. The guy shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jacket.

She loathed him on sight.

Haruno Sakura, honors student was pissed and scared. First they offered her a full scholarship to some high class college a thousand miles away, the one all her friends were going to. She'd been so excited at the chance to spend another four years with everyone and then they told her that the only free room was in the boys' dorm. And they neglected to mention that _there was already somebody living in it. And that the person was a sociopath._

Why had everyone supported the transfer? When she'd been indecisive about taking the deal, her best friend had tried to be understanding. "Calm down, Sakura," Naruto had said, buying her ice cream to make up for her treating him to ramen the night before. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Why can't you look forward to seeing us all through college?" She'd smiled and punched him in the shoulder for grabbing her ass.

Just this morning, before her flight, Sakura had been elated. She'd put on one of her favorite outfits, sure that it would be a great day: grey skinny jeans, a pink tank top and an old torn Nirvana jacket that settled perfectly around her waist, revealing just the right amount of cleavage. She even had her lucky Converse on, the red ones with the black cherry blossoms! Fate just loved to screw with her, didn't it? The perfect outfit, hair cooperating for once, nail polish applied evenly, and the only one to appreciate it was the six–foot creep in front of her.

_I did not sign up for a male roommate,_ she thought angrily as she tried not to kill the boy with her glare. It was a challenge. _And it's a bunk bed! How am I supposed to live like this?_

Realizing that she was getting nowhere by being childish, Sakura sighed in frustration and stuck out her hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I guess I'll be sharing this room with you this year, so I hope we can get by without murdering one another in our sleep." _He'll have to do more than hope if he gets on my nerves._

When he failed to grasp her hand, she raised an eyebrow. He raised one in return.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't shake hands." He turned to the door.

"Then what do you shake?" she muttered, and he froze.

Turning, he smirked at her.

"Picking a fight already? It's risky, but I like it."

Sakura smiled timidly, backing up slightly when he shut the door and slid the deadbolt home. _Well now we know why this guy didn't have a roommate..._

"Um, do you want the top or the bottom?"

The new, darker smirk on his face was not at all reassuring. "I prefer the top."

She winced at how horrible that sounded and tried to stop her knees from knocking together. Panicking visibly, Sakura reached in her pocket for her phone, her phone... She patted her jeans pockets as well, slight confusion on her face. She could have sworn she put it there. Unless she'd set it down...

Glancing up, her anxiety doubled. He had her Hello Kitty strap wrapped around one finger and was swinging her phone like a pendulum.

"Can I have my phone back?" Her voice squeaked and she coughed, trying to clear her throat.

He just smirked at her and dangled it in between her eyes. She yelped and swiped at it, annoyance and worry warring for control of her features. He let her have it as she flailed wildly, diving towards the bathroom. She pushed the heavy door open and slammed it shut, breathing wildly. The second she was sure it had locked, she flipped open her cellphone, cussing quietly as she dialed.

"Pickup, pickup, pickup, damn it," she muttered as she got Ino's voice mail.

"Hello!" The voice was cheerful and Sakura rolled her eyes at the obvious irony. "You've reached Yamanaka Ino. I'm probably in class or asleep or at a photo shoot and can't get to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep!"

"Hi, Ino? It's Sakura. I'm at school now, and my room is in the boys' dorm. I know, it's insane... but my roommate is a fucking lunatic!" Sakura glanced at the doorway and saw the dark shape of his shoes; the bastard was leaning against the door, waiting for her!

"Ino, just call me as soon as you get this! I'm really afraid that he's going to kill me or something! Bye!" She snapped the phone shut and sat down, hard.

What a horrible start to what should have been the greatest day ever.

And he was still there.

She sat in the bathroom for what seemed like hours, terrified of what would happen if she decided to risk unlocking the door. She found a pen in her pocket and played ticktacktoe on her hands until her skin was a web of ink. Then she sung some of her favorite songs and played some games on her phone. It didn't occur to her to call the police; she was sure that he was more than a match for whoever they could send.

The minutes ticked by.

She stared at the wall, glancing occasionally at the door, where she could still see the shadow from the bastard's shoes. He was keeping her in here. She kept anxiously checking her phone, knowing that one by one, she was missing her classes.

Finally, when she realized she had missed the last class of the day, her Bible as Literature class, she snapped.

Sakura stood up, dusted herself off and straightened her hair.

_Today Uchiha Sasuke is going to die._

Smiling, she yanked open the door and flushed scarlet in anger.

The _**bastard**_ had taken off his shoes and put them by the door. He was nowhere to be seen. Shaking, she almost missed the piece of paper that was tacked to the door. She glared at it, ripped off the tape and read it.

_Sakura,_

_Have fun explaining to your teacher that you missed class because you were sitting in the bathroom with the lock on the inside, staring at a pair of shoes._

_Good luck with that, by the way._

_Sasuke._

She let the paper fall to ground as she laughed. Her knees felt weak and she clutched her stomach, muscles aching from tension. Tears almost leaked from between her eyelids. He'd gotten her! He'd completely screwed with her schedule, her mind and her ability to cope! And he'd done it so easily; she'd have a few questions for him when he got back.

Her phone rang in her pocket. "Hello, Sakura here!" There was no answer on the other end and she paused.

"Gaara?"

"I'm here."

She sighed, elation making a smile appear on her lips for the first time since this morning. "Gaara, thank god. I've been locked in my room all day by my psycho roommate. I thought you were messed up, but this guy's the shit! Will you come get me? I don't feel safe walking out on my own..."

"Yeah."

The line dropped and Sakura resisted the urge to do a victory dance. She locked the front door and put a chair under it, waiting with baited breath for her boyfriend to arrive.

Then came a knock at the door.

"Gaara?"

"It's me."

She opened the door and jumped into his waiting arms, his kiss just as passionate as hers. He had her pressed up against a wall in the bathroom by the time she remembered she had wanted to go out and get some dinner.

"I missed you," he murmured into her neck, and she giggled, her arms pulling him closer.

Neither of them heard the door open, or the footsteps that followed. They did hear the slight cough behind them though, and they both froze. Sakura unhooked her legs from around Gaara's waist and dropped to the floor.

"Um, Gaara, this is Uchiha Sasuke, my roommate." She pulled her shirt down to cover her stomach and buttoned her jeans again. It was almost funny to see that Gaara was taller than Sasuke by four inches. "Sasuke, this is my boyfriend, Sabaku Gaara."

The boys glared at each other and she sighed. Things are never good when your boyfriend decides he hates your male roommate. Picking up her bag and towing Gaara out of there, she decided that she would be spending as much time away from her room as possible.

_Well, it means more time at Gaara's._ That was the thought that got her through dinner before she pounced on her boyfriend and dragged him into restaurant's bathroom.


	8. I Dare You 2, the SasuSaku Version

**READ ME!!!**

**This is the mainly SasuSaku version, with only implied GaaSaku! It's really not as blatant as my other fics. ^^ It's a Hurt/JealousyFic. The other one is the previous chapter, with MAJOR GaaSaku, which is more of a Hatred/AnnoyanceFic. My BetaReader suggested I do a SasuSaku version, just because she liked it that much.**

**I know, it's such utter randomness. I couldn't resist this kind of AU, no matter the flames I may attract. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I'm extremely proud of my self-awareness and am so happy I don't own Naruto. XD**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 8: I Dare You (SasuSaku Version)**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

"So how's this going to work?"

Sakura stood amidst her luggage, arms crossed as she looked at the redhead. The guy shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jacket.

She loathed him on sight.

Haruno Sakura, honors student was pissed and scared. First they offered her a full scholarship to some high class college a thousand miles away, the one all her friends were going to. She'd been so excited at the chance to spend another four years with everyone and then they told her that the only free room was in the boys' dorm. And they neglected to mention that _there was already somebody living in it. And that the person was a mental patient._

Why had everyone supported the transfer? When she'd been indecisive about taking the deal, her best friend had tried to be understanding. "Calm down, Sakura," Naruto had said, buying her ice cream to make up for her treating him to ramen the night before. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Why can't you look forward to seeing us all through college?" She'd smiled and punched him in the shoulder for grabbing her ass.

Just this morning, before her flight, Sakura had been elated. She'd put on one of her favorite outfits, sure that it would be a great day: grey skinny jeans, a pink tank top and an old torn Nirvana jacket that settled perfectly around her waist, revealing just the right amount of cleavage. She even had her lucky Converse on, the red ones with the black cherry blossoms! Fate just loved to screw with her, didn't it? The perfect outfit, hair cooperating for once, nail polish applied evenly, and the only one to appreciate it was the six–foot insomniac in front of her.

_I did not sign up for a male roommate,_ she thought angrily as she tried not to kill the boy with her glare. It was a challenge. _And it's a bunk bed! How am I supposed to live like this?_

Realizing that she was getting nowhere by being childish, Sakura sighed in frustration and stuck out her hand. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I guess I'll be sharing this room with you this year, so I hope we can get by without murdering one another in our sleep." _He'll have to do more than hope if he gets on my nerves._

When he failed to grasp her hand, she raised an eyebrow. He didn't raise one in return; the creep had no eyebrows.

"My name is Sabaku Gaara. I don't shake hands." He turned to the door.

"Then what do you shake?" she muttered, and he froze.

_Is he smiling? No, it's way too creepy._ And the corners of his mouth _were_ turned up, but in a feral grin.

"Picking a fight already? It's risky, but I like it."

Sakura smiled timidly, backing up slightly when he shut the door and slid the deadbolt home. _Well now we know why this guy didn't have a roommate..._

"Um, do you want the top or the bottom?"

The smirk on his face was not at all reassuring. "I prefer the top."

She winced at how horrible that sounded and tried to stop her knees from knocking together. Panicking visibly, Sakura reached in her pocket for her phone, her phone... She patted her jeans pockets as well, slight confusion on her face. She could have sworn she put it there. Unless she'd set it down...

Glancing up, her anxiety doubled. He had her Hello Kitty strap wrapped around one finger and was swinging her phone like a pendulum.

"Can I have my phone back?" Her voice squeaked and she coughed, trying to clear her throat.

He just smirked at her and dangled it in between her eyes. She yelped and swiped at it, annoyance and worry warring for control of her features. He let her have it as she flailed wildly, diving towards the bathroom. She pushed the heavy door open and slammed it shut, breathing wildly. The second she was sure it had locked, she flipped open her cellphone, cussing quietly as she dialed.

"Pickup, pickup, pickup, damn it," she muttered as she got Ino's voice mail.

"Hello!" The voice was cheerful and Sakura rolled her eyes at the obvious irony. "You've reached Yamanaka Ino. I'm probably in class or asleep or at a photo shoot and can't get to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep!"

"Hi, Ino? It's Sakura. I'm at school now, and my room is in the boys' dorm. I know, it's insane... but my roommate is a fucking lunatic!" Sakura glanced at the doorway and saw the dark shape of his shoes; the bastard was leaning against the door, waiting for her!

"Ino, just call me as soon as you get this! I'm really afraid that he's going to kill me or something! Bye!" She snapped the phone shut and sat down, hard.

What a horrible start to what should have been the greatest day ever.

And he was still there.

She sat in the bathroom for what seemed like hours, terrified of what would happen if she decided to risk unlocking the door. She found a pen in her pocket and played ticktacktoe on her hands until her skin was a web of ink. Then she sung some of her favorite songs and played some games on her phone. It didn't occur to her to call the police; she was sure that he was more than a match for whoever they could send.

The minutes ticked by.

She stared at the wall, glancing occasionally at the door, where she could still see the shadow from the bastard's shoes. He was keeping her in here. She kept anxiously checking her phone, knowing that one by one, she was missing her classes.

Finally, when she realized she had missed the last class of the day, her Bible as Literature class, she snapped.

Sakura stood up, dusted herself off and straightened her hair.

_Today Sabaku Gaara is going to die._

Smiling, she yanked open the door and flushed scarlet in anger.

The _**bastard**_ had taken off his shoes and put them by the door. He was nowhere to be seen. Shaking, she almost missed the piece of paper that was tacked to the door. She glared at it, ripped off the tape and read it.

_Sakura,_

_Have fun explaining to your teacher that you missed class because you were sitting in the bathroom with the lock on the inside, staring at a pair of shoes._

_Good luck with that, by the way._

_Gaara._

She let the paper fall to ground as she laughed. Her knees felt weak and she clutched her stomach, muscles aching from tension. Tears almost leaked from between her eyelids. He'd gotten her! He'd completely screwed with her schedule, her mind and her ability to cope! And he'd done it so easily; she'd have a few questions for him when he got back.

Her phone rang in her pocket. "Hello, Sakura here!" There was no answer on the other end and she paused.

"Sasuke?"

There was a grunt from the other end.

She sighed, elation making a smile appear on her lips for the first time since this morning. "Sasuke, thank god. I've been locked in my room all day by my psycho roommate. Will you come get me? I don't feel safe walking out on my own..."

"Hn."

The line dropped and Sakura resisted the urge to do a victory dance. She locked the front door and put a chair under it, waiting with baited breath for her boyfriend to arrive.

Then came a knock.

"Sasuke?"

"It's me."

She opened the door and jumped into his waiting arms, his kiss just as passionate as hers. He had her pressed up against a wall in the bathroom by the time she remembered she had wanted to go out and get some dinner.

"I missed you," he murmured into her neck, and she giggled, her arms pulling him closer.

Neither of them heard the door open, or the footsteps that followed. They did hear the slight cough behind them though, and they both froze. Sakura unhooked her legs from around Sasuke's waist and dropped to the floor.

"Um, Sasuke, this is Sabaku Gaara, my roommate." She pulled her shirt down to cover her stomach and buttoned her jeans again. It was almost funny to see that Sasuke was taller than Gaara by four inches. "Gaara, this is my boyfriend, Uchiha Sasuke."

The boys glared at each other and she sighed.

Things are never good when your boyfriend decides he hates your male roommate.

Gaara looked right at her and she gulped. He looked like Sasuke had when they first met, unpredictable and sadistic.

Picking up her bag and towing Sasuke out of there, she decided that she would be spending as much time away from her room as possible.

_If Gaara lets me._


	9. Closer

**Songfic, but slightly sickfic–ish. I know, I have an unhealthy obsession with blood in GaaSaku fics. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: My efforts to the contrary have been fruitless: I still do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 9: Closer**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

Her heart was beating. Thudding, against her ribcage. Hurting her. Hurting him. He should just do her a favor and rip it out.

"Gaara, please, just... just..."

He let his fingers trail over her skin. "Why, Sakura? Why should I do something like that?" He raised one of her wrists and let his tongue dart out. She hissed at his touch and writhed beneath him. "Anything," she sobbed, "Anything, if you'll just do it..." Tears stained her cheeks.

Gaara hesitated. "Anything?"

She nodded quickly, rough pink locks ghosting over her pale flesh. "Anything at all."

Smirking, he pressed his lips into the crook of her neck. "All right."

His strong arms enveloped her, drawing her into his embrace. She almost wept openly now, tension lining her body.

He could feel her pale limbs gripping him. She was begging for release. "Gaara..."

The Sand–Nin pulled her closer still and heard her gasp. He was with her, his mind free from all constraints. Then she screamed. For a moment he was afraid he'd hurt her, afraid that his inner control had lapsed for a split second. But she was merely euphoric. When it ended, she collapsed against the pillows, beads of sweat lining her collarbone.

––––––––––

You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you  
You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you  
Help me I broke apart my insides, help me I've got no soul to sell  
Help me the only thing that works for me, help me get away from myself

––––––––––

He knew she was exhausted. He was as well. But like all things, he demanded his price.

"Sakura, you said anything..." His chest rumbled as he twisted strands between his fingers.

Now it was her turn to smile vindictively. He could see her breathing heavily, jade eyes lidded with weariness and satisfaction. Struggling up onto her elbows, Sakura cupped his smooth jaw with one hand. He nuzzled into it slightly, sighing. She was intoxicating, like a drug that pulled at his consciousness invariably. He had his obsession with blood just as she had hers. The fact that his was blood being spilt and hers was blood being saved made little difference.

"Well, Gaara?"

His pale green eyes met hers. She slowly put her lips to her palm and bit, tearing the delicate flesh. The blood flowed freely. But it didn't hold his attention. He put one hand behind her head, slowly drawing her up to him. His lips met hers in one slow movement, and he could taste the rusty blood in her mouth. He tugged at her lower lip and she ran her fingers through his hair. Soon his kisses turned to the afflicted hand, where he licked at the wound slowly. She shuddered at the sensation and her sudden rigidity inadvertently distracted him.

"Gaara..."

"Sakura."


	10. Must Love Dogs

**I know this title is extremely cliché, and I'm not trying to steal it from the movie. I'm just claiming creative inspiration. Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: There is no way on the face of this Earth that I own Naruto. On the face of Pluto, perhaps, but not Earth.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 10: Must Love Dogs**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

"Gaara, we're home!" Temari yawned and hung up her coat. Gaara didn't answer, but she heard the hiss of water through pipes. "He must be in the shower. Come on, let's put our bags away." The blonde said. Kankuro followed her slowly, grumbling about cold weather and electricity costs. Temari cuffed him lightly on the head and told him to go make some hot chocolate. "It's not as if you're the one paying the heating bills anyway," she called after him as she went to flip on the news. As she was unwinding the scarf from around her neck, she considered ordering pizza for dinner.

Then there was a crash. She cursed under her breath. "Kankuro, be careful!" She leaned through the open doorway. "That's the third pair of mugs you've broken since New Year's Eve!" He yelled something back and she grimaced, following him into the hallway next to the kitchen.

She sighed when she saw the two broken mugs. "Honestly, can't you be a little more caref...?" She stopped short next to Kankuro, teal eyes wide and staring.

"A dog?"

Gaara was curled up on his bed with a golden retriever at his feet, snoring softly, and sleeping deeply for the first time in years. The siblings were shocked, and it took them a moment before they could move.

Temari sat down with a thumb at their oak table, still numb. "I wonder where he got the dog; it doesn't really look like a stray."

Kankuro shrugged. "It's helping him sleep and he doesn't care that it's drooling. I think we should let him keep it."

She sighed and put her head in her hands. "If that dog belongs to someone, we'll have to give it back. There's no way we can just keep it if it has tags."

Her brother cocked an eyebrow at her. "What if Gaara doesn't want to give it back? We can't take it from him. Gaara keeps what he wants. Remember the incident with the teddy bear?" They both shuddered.

Finally, Temari sat up and sighed again. "Go make some coffee, Kankuro." He stared at her. She hadn't had coffee in months, foregoing it to prevent acid reflux. She caught his look and explained: "Decaf is fine, but I need something to sink my teeth into at this point." He nodded, grabbing two new mugs off of the counter. She watched him for a moment, making sure he had a grip on them.

But if Gaara was in his bedroom, with the dog, who was in the bathroom? Maybe Gaara had left the water running; she should go shut it off.

Temari got up and strode down the hall. The bathroom door was closed. _Does he really have someone over?_ she wondered. _Who could it be?_ She knocked lightly and waited a minute.

There were the sounds of taps being shut off and footsteps. A moment later the door opened and...

_Wow, _thought Temari. _I did _not_ see this coming._

Standing in front of her, toweling her pink hair dry with Gaara's towel and wrapped in his red robe, was a girl with bright green eyes and a quirky grin.

"Oh, hello! I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you, Temari, right? Gaara's told me so much about you." She stuck out a hand, which Temari shook, too dazed to do anything else.

"So you're a friend of Gaara's, then?" Temari immediately felt like an idiot, but it was a legitimate question, right?

The girl, Sakura, giggled. "I'm Gaara's girlfriend, silly!"

Nodding mutely, Temari led her out into the kitchen, where Kankuro was gesturing furiously to his older sister. Gaara was up, leaning against the doorframe and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The retriever was sitting behind him, tail thumping the wall. After making sure Sakura didn't need anything, Temari went to talk to Kankuro in the kitchen, with the door closed.

"They're really–?"

Kankuro nodded.

"But he's–"

"I know."

"And she–"

"Yeah."

"Then how–"

"Italian food."

"He cooks?"

"Takeout."

"He doesn't have–"

"They walked."

"And his record?"

"Apparently she doesn't care."

Temari stared.

Kankuro shrugged. "I know. I've been talking to Gaara. He says they've only been going out for a few days and she leaves the dog here when she goes to work."

Shuddering at the thought of Gaara being friendly, Temari shouldered the door open and brought out three fresh mugs: one filled with coffee and the other two with hot chocolate. Kankuro sipped his own as they sat down opposite their brother and his girlfriend.

Sakura looked at them each in turn, a worried expression on her face. "I hope I haven't come at a bad time. Gaara just said that I could take a shower after the cold weather–"

Kankuro shook his head. "We have no problem with you being here. We were just a little surprised, is all." He gestured towards the cups. "Please, have something to drink. It really is cold." She giggled and accepted his offer, drinking deeply.

Gaara had been eyeing his siblings warily, trying to guess which way they would jump. "I was hoping Sakura could stay. And Shukaku." He petted the dog.

"That's fine, I guess. How did you two meet?" Suddenly Temari felt divorced from her mouth. "He hasn't told us anything about you."

Sakura's forehead wrinkled. "Yeah, it was pretty sudden, and he doesn't like to talk much, except to me..."

She grinned as Gaara took her hand.

"We met pretty suddenly, all because of Shukaku!"

The siblings stared at her, uncomprehending, until she explained: "I live near here, and I always walk him by the park. On Saturday, Gaara was sitting on a bench and he asked to pet Shukaku. When I let him, and Shukaku liked him, he was hooked!" She giggled. "Gaara made me sit down with him. We talked until it was dark, and Gaara offered to take me out to dinner."

Kankuro and Temari just stared.

"He offered _what?_"

Sakura leaned over and kissed Gaara lightly, smiling.

"He took me to dinner. It was very sweet.

Then Temari slowly fell backwards in a dead faint.


	11. Stolen Goods

**When there is nothing else to do at midnight, write!**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**I wrote this last night on some notebook paper and transferred it this tonight, so please excuse any mistakes. It _is_ after midnight.**

**This was inspired by the theory that Gaara's pent up bloodlust will eventually transform into odd libido. ^^**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but a girl can dream!**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 11: Stolen Goods**

**by Rachel Poulson**

**––––––––––**

There was the sound of cracking stone as a blonde figure landed in a street.

"And stay out, Naruto! Baka yaro!"

The Kyuubi vessel ran down the street, a huge nervous grin on his face. He swerved left, leapt to avoid a cart and vaulted through the window of his apartment, clutching his prize in one hand. Taking a breath, Naruto slammed the window shut and shot a thumbs–up at his audience. "Mission accomplished!" He held up the linen bag for them all to see.

Kankuro snorted and Sasuke shook his head in disgust. "Dobe, what exactly did breaking into someone's apartment accomplish?" Naruto ignored his boyfriend's snide remark and threw the sack at Gaara, who was leaning against the wall. Surprised, Gaara caught it.

"Now we can really check if he's gay!" Naruto said.

This time Kankuro collapsed into a fit of laughter at Naruto's exuberance and his brother's bewildered grin. A mild tic appeared in Sasuke's face. "Why will stolen goods help you check?" Naruto smirked and stuck a hand in his jacket pocket, fishing around. "I didn't just get the goods; stolen goods wouldn't be foolproof. Ah–ha!" He revealed a disposable camera, and the room went quiet. "She didn't see the camera," he added.

Sasuke's expression didn't flicker but he nodded at Naruto. "You win. I'll give you twenty bucks and wear the garter."

Naruto's fist pumped the air. "Dattebayo!"

There was a quiet cough. Gaara pushed away from the wall and held out his hand expectantly. Naruto tossed the camera over and went to sit on Sasuke's lap. The Uchiha prodigy glared for a moment and yelped when Naruto bit the edge of his ear lovingly.

Kankuro finished gawping at his brother. He turned to the male members of Team 7 with fifty bucks and a broad grin. "You guys are so coming to Suna someday."

They congratulated each other on mission accomplished for a moment before Naruto realized someone was missing from their conversation. "Guys, where's Gaara?" They stared and Kankuro groaned, resting his head in his hands. "He's such a do-gooder nowadays! He probably went to return the stuff to her."

The other boys traded disbelieving glances, but Kankuro was right: Gaara was walking up the stairs to Haruno Sakura's apartment.

––––––––––

As his hand approached the door to knock, the wood was ripped off its hinges.

"That son of a – I'll skin that ketsunoana alive!"

Sakura tossed the door to the side, cursing to herself until she realized someone was standing patiently on her doorstep. "What do you want?" she almost snarled, too angry to be polite.

He unhooked the gourd from his back. "I came to return these." Gaara held out the bag of lingerie and the camera. "Naruto wanted me to use them for something. I wasn't sure what, but I figured you'd want those back." He gestured towards the sack of clothing. "Do you mind if I come in?"

She nodded, still in shock and accepted the items automatically.

"By the way, the pictures were good," he said as he stepped over the threshold.

She looked at him sharply.

"What pictures?"

He waved at the camera in her hand. "Naruto said he took them while you weren't looking."

Sakura's cheeks burned.

"You looked at them?"

Gaara nodded vaguely, sitting down on her couch. "Why not? There was so much there to look at."

Sakura swallowed the growl that was building in the back of her throat. She should thank him and make him leave before she really got angry.

"I want to thank you for bringing back my clothes and the… pictures. Was there anything else you needed before you go?"

To her surprise, he sighed and propped his chin on one fist.

Sakura stared. Gaara was too completely bloodthirsty to make such an innocent display of vulnerability, and yet there he was. It was strangely appealing to her.

"I'm just a little confused."

Gaara, confused? That pushed her off the edge. She started to grin at him.

"About what?"

"Well, Naruto brought the pictures and the clothes for something. He and Kankuro and Sasuke were talking about it the entire time, but I'm not sure what…"

Gaara trailed off, leaving Sakura floored again. She ogled him, unabashed.

"Are you telling me you don't know what they were suggesting?"

His non–existent eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I wouldn't be asking otherwise. Can you tell me what they were talking about? It's really annoying me."

Oh–kay. On one hand, annoying Gaara wasn't high on her list of things to do, but neither was explaining the mechanics of sex to him in her living room. With a bag of lingerie on the floor. And a camera full of… undesirable photographs.

"Well, um…" She tried to stall. He was looking at her in a very meaningful way, and she suddenly found herself unable to register coherent thoughts.

"I–I suppose you have to know about what goes before, um, a woman gets pregnant?" He nodded and she heaved a mental sigh of relief. "It's, um, kind of like that… but without, you know, the money. And the, uh, pregnant part. Most of the time."

Now he looked seriously confused and dismayed. "So they were talking about getting married? I hope they don't expect me to run off with some girl."

Sakura stood up, suddenly irritated beyond belief with his uncharacteristic naivety.

"Gaara, for god's sake, they were talking about sex! What's wrong with you?"

The light dawned in his eyes and he blinked.

"Oh. What's sex?"

Sakura stood up, seething as she tried not to take her anger out on the ninja sitting in her living room.

"I'm going to look for something. Just sit here for a minute and I'll get one of my med books for you."

––––––––––

She stalked into the kitchen, wrenching open a cupboard and shattering a plate in anger. She gripped the counter, trying not to break the wood as she cursed Naruto six ways from Sunday. Still breathing hard, she walked back into the living room to find Gaara staring at the ceiling.

"Gaara, would you please leave? There's something I need to do."

He gazed beseechingly at her. "Aren't you going to teach me about sex?"

She shut her eyes. "Gaara, go now."

"Please, Sakura?"

"If you need to learn, go to a brothel."

She opened her eyes. He was standing just in front of her, arms crossed over his chest. Had he always been taller than her?

Gaara grinned at her distant expression. "I've read Jiraiya's book you know."

"You've _what_?"

Sakura took a swipe at his head and he dodged, grabbing one of her arms. She hooked a foot around his, sending him crashing to the ground. He covered her up to the waist in sand just long enough to stand again. Their brief scuffle ended with Sakura shoved up against her living room wall, breathing hard as Gaara held her hands above her head. He smirked at her. She glared back.

"You tricked me. Can you tell me what possessed you to look at that kind of books in the first place? No offense, but I don't see you as the IchaIcha Paradise type."

He shrugged, keeping his palms pressed down on her wrists. "Naruto sends me every new one that comes out. You know, you're pretty when you're angry."

Sakura blinked in genuine surprise at his abrupt statement. "Pretty? What, do you like me or something?"

He shrugged again, annoying her further. "Is that so hard to believe? You're extremely intelligent. You're pretty. And you're violent."

"That's all?" She honestly did not believe that those things could make her desirable to him, especially the last one.

He considered it, seemingly unaware that he still had her pressed against a wall.

"Well, one time Naruto said that you give great head."

Sakura worked a leg free from his hold and slammed her knee into his stomach, knocking him back as she went for blood. Flexing her knuckles on one hand, she dragged him forwards with the other. Then, before he could respond to her attack, she let her fist fly forward.

It sent him through the plaster wall, the wooden beams, and into the wall of the building across the street. The air slammed out of his lungs on impact. He opened his eyes and grinned, feeling his ribs healing themselves. Then he launched himself back into her apartment. She was ready for him.

They tumbled over her red carpet, limbs tangling as each fought for the upper hand. This time Sakura finished first, her strong legs pinning him to the floor as she swept a stray lock of hair from her eyes. Her green irises glittered dangerously.

"Don't you ever say that again."

"What, the compliments or the thing about giving head?"

"The thing about giving head! I'll flay you alive if you so much as mention it, understand?" She hesitated, frowning. "Naruto wouldn't know that." She stared absently at the wall, holding down his palms with bare muscle.

Gaara raised a metaphorical eyebrow. "Are there others who know?" he questioned.

She stiffened, sending all sorts of inappropriate thoughts through the Jinchuuriki's head.

"Is that any of your business?"

He thought about it for a moment. "It might be."

She didn't answer, speechless with fury.

He grinned slightly and shoved her over, sending them rolling again. He swung her over one last time, holding her down as he regained his breath and composure.

"Let me up right now!" She struggled in his grasp, ignoring the urge to go limp.

"I'll let you up in a minute." He lowered his head, nose grazing her ear as he inhaled deeply. When he breathed out, she shivered.

Slowly, he turned his face to hers and kissed her.

She thrashed in his grip for a moment, trying to wriggle out of his hold. Kissing? She felt his soft lips pressed against hers, moving in time with some inaudible beat. And he was kissing her… should she be kissing him back? She was almost sure that was what she'd been trying not to do, but she couldn't seem to focus when he was gently tugging on her lower lip with his teeth. Kissing. He was kissing her. She was kissing him. One kiss. No, it was surely more than one kiss; this had to count for a lot more than that.

She gasped as he pulled away, aware more than every of his closeness. If he were touching her any more, she thought she might scream. She tried to speak, to accuse him, to curse him, to beg him for more, but she couldn't force the words from between her swollen lips. She lay there breathing harshly, still tasting him on her lips, as she tried to convey the shudders running through her body. It was a mix of drowning and falling off a cliff, she decided. Her breathing was labored by an almost tangible desire to be kissed again, and her body was shaking with an unnamed response.

Even he might have been embarrassed at the proximity if not for the intimate details of her figure that flooded his senses with each touch. They filled his thoughts, leaving no room for doubts and shyness. He observed her shocked state, noting that she was no longer fighting his hold.

"First time?"

Her gaze snapped to his and she found she could move again.

"It's not like it counts. Your first has to be willing."

Gaara looked at her in incredulity.

"How much more willing do I need to make you?"

"A hell of a lot more willing!"

She glared up at him, and his lazy grin got wider. Slowly, lowering his eyes, he released her hands. She didn't move; she was limp as a doll under his earnest gaze and sensitive fingers. Her eyes widened as he gently cupped her chin in his palms and kissed her again. This time it was faster, more insistent as his lips swayed her into submission. It took Sakura a moment to realize that she was kissing him back, and another moment to realize that this would definitely count as her first kiss. There were few people on the face of the earth more willing than she was right now. Her hands twined in his thick red hair, legs following the apparent all–clear notice.

As he pulled away a minute later, she noted his smug expression.

"What are you so happy about?"

He licked his lips, making her shiver.

"Well, mainly that. And I got you extremely angry and then got you to kiss me."

"I did not kiss you."

"Intent counts. By the way, I was joking about what Naruto said."

"You son of a bitch, you planned this with him!"

"The thought never crossed my mind. Oh, and the camera had no film in it. Naruto has no idea how to take pictures."

"Just let me up and I'll–"

"You'll what? What about if I do this?"

She gasped into his lips.

"That is not what I meant!"

"You weren't talking about more kissing?"

"No, I was talking about manslau–"

"Holyfuckingshit!"

They both looked up.

Ino, Kankuro and Lee stood in the wreckage of Sakura's doorway, staring in wonder at the scene before them.

Sakura turned crimson. "It's not what it looks like–"

"Gaara!"

The exclamation came from Kankuro. It was a cross between horror and awe, like someone examining a jar of poison.

The redheaded Jinchuuriki looked calmly at his brother, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that he was still sitting on Sakura. "Yes, Kankuro?"

"You were– and she wasn't– and no one was– not even a scream?" he finished lamely, fishing for help blindly.

Ino was wearing a calculating expression, the one that meant everyone would know by lunch that Sakura had been having a major make out session with Sabaku no Gaara.

Lee looked like he was about to cry. "Why, oh beautiful blossom of youth? Did you not wish to wait for me?" He turned to Gaara, shoulders slumped in defeat. "What first alerted you to the glorious beauty of Sakura? Was it her graceful demeanor or sparkling intellect?"

Gaara looked at the blonde kunoichi. "What's he asking me?"

Ino smirked. "He's asking you what about Sakura turned you on."

Gaara blinked at Lee through eyes lined by insomnia.

"She punched me and threw me through a wall."


	12. Trick or Treat

**Once in a while, everyone needs a chance to reveal their alter–egos and this is one of mine. XD**

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better. And since I'm nowhere near the top, I need all the help I can get.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I dO nOt OwN nArUtO.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 12: Trick or Treat**

**by Rachel Poulson**

**––––––––––**

"Temari, please?"

The blonde girl in question glared at her little brother. "Absolutely not, Kankuro. I will not submit my friends to that kind of torture. It's bad enough you're having a Halloween party, but why did you have to make costumes mandatory? No, don't answer that, I don't want to know. The things I put up with for you and Gaara..."

Kankuro looked on helplessly as Temari pulled on a sweatshirt, tied her shoes and put her headphones in her ears. "I'm going for a run. Don't light anything on fire while I'm gone."

_This is the last straw,_ Kankuro thought, and he bit his lip, unsure if he should play this card. _I suppose I'll have to. Otherwise this will be the lamest party of the century. Here goes nothing..._

"Wait, Temari!"

Temari, who had been about to open the front door, looked at him in disdain. "What now, Kankuro? There is nothing you can say that will make me change–"

"IfyouinvitesomegirlsthenI'llinviteShikamaru!" He blurted it out and hoped like hell that she didn't castrate him then and there.

Her calculating green eyes focused on his. Then, with her cheeks burning like banners, she nodded slowly. Kankuro smirked, relieved in more ways than one. Then Temari scowled at his gloating and flipped him off before leaving. He could hear her shoes crunch on the gravel outside their house as she started running.

Kankuro went over the list of things they'd need; after all, Halloween was just a week away.

––––––––––

Even though the Sabakus' house was spacious, everyone had to squeeze in order to fit. Kankuro, dressed as Pinocchio, was acting as host and Bumblebee Temari was glaring at everyone around her. Kankuro had been true to his word and invited Nara Shikamaru. Unfortunately, Shika was still backpacking around Europe with Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji, and wouldn't be back for another month.

"Come on, Temari, loosen up!" Kankuro whispered to her when he had the chance, and she socked him in the stomach for his trouble. Clutching his aching ribs, he went to see if his guests would be any more sociable.

"Sasuke, Neji; it's good to see you guys!"

They nodded to him in a vague way. Naruto was talking animatedly about his wedding plans and they were too engrossed in the horror to notice much else. The Uzumaki heir was dressed as a wolf and his fiancée was wearing a Little Red Riding Hood outfit, much to her embarrassment. Sasuke, temporarily Dracula (including the removable fangs), was pinching the bridge of his nose and hoping someone would save him.

"Oh my gosh, Tenten, I'll be right back! I think I just saw Ino!"

Kankuro looked around for the source of that voice and found Haruno Sakura, weaving towards the kitchen, drink in hand. He grinned when she caught his eye and waved. Then she ducked into the kitchen, trying desperately not to spill her drink.

In fact, the line about Ino was just to cover up the fact that Sakura really needed to go fix her bra. She snuck out through the kitchen, avoiding Shino and Hana. She couldn't tell what their costumes were, but she wasn't going to stick around to find out.

"Down the hall, to the left," she muttered, trying to remember her way through the Sabakus' house.

Then she tripped on an unseen step and fell through a darkened doorway.

_–_

She hit her head on something and suddenly the whole world went very dark.

––––––––––

"Are you okay?"

"...what, where am I, oh..."

Groaning, she cracked open her eyelids.

A pale aqua set of eyes stared back at her, much too close for comfort.

Sakura gasped and brought her hand up to her face, intending to slap whoever was nearest, and forgot that she was carrying the Cupid's bow that went with her costume.

"Ow!"

She blinked, sat up and realized who she'd just clocked with her wooden bow.

"Oh my gosh, Gaara! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

The youngest Sabaku smiled wanly at her. "As well as can be expected of someone who was just hit over the head with _that_." He gestured towards the bow in her hand. He rubbed his head, running fingers through the smooth red hair over his left temple.

Sakura blushed. "I really am sorry about that," she said and giggled. "I didn't know who you were."

"Well, are you okay now?" Gaara helped her to her feet. She was sitting in the hallway just inside his door. The door was closed now, but she would have bet that she'd fallen into his room through there. Rubbing a sore spot on her forehead, she realized she must have fallen pretty hard. That accounted for the momentary unconsciousness. Waking up with the tall, lean Gaara leaning over her had not been exactly calming for her psyche. Gaara was just so... _imposing._

She stood up and Gaara went to find her arrow as she regained her balance.

"Why aren't you out at the party? It's a lot of fun and Temari bought lots of chocolate!" Sakura's glowing face dimmed slightly at his stoic expression. His presence was intimidating to everyone he met, and being frowned at by him just reminded you of his heritage.

"I don't do well in crowds. Besides, I don't eat chocolate." He handed her the arrow. He was so lanky that he didn't even need to step forward; he just extended his arm the distance and relinquished the prop.

"What do you mean you don't eat chocolate? Are you allergic or something?"

He shook his scarlet head. "I don't go trick–or–treating, so it's kind of a moot point. I don't eat candy, candy doesn't rot my teeth. It's a win–win situation."

Sakura giggled and then dug around in her pockets. With a yelp of success, she found an Almond Joy and held it up to his face. "Look, here! One piece of candy won't kill you."

Hesitantly, as though suspicious of the chocolate covered treat, Gaara took it It was almost funny to see such a heavily muscled person fumble with something as simple as peeling a candy wrapper.

Sakura would have paid any amount of money for the look on his face as he took a bite. His eyes widened and he smiled, shoving another piece of the chocolate bar into his mouth. "Iss igg hammathinkk," he said, and she grinned.

"Don't eat and talk at the same time." He could hear the slight reprimand in her voice, but his world revolved around the bar of gold that was leaking sunlight. He now officially _loved_ chocolate. He swallowed. "This is amazing," he reiterated and took another bite.

When he had finished that, he looked at Sakura and said, "I want some more."

She nodded, fishing around in her pockets for more, but to no avail. "You should go get some from the party," she said. "There are buckets full of it."

Gaara's green eyes glazed over in a euphoric expression. "Would you get me some?"

Sakura, mesmerized by his simple happiness, nodded without qualms. She slipped off the bed and went over to the door. The doorknob turned only slightly. Sakura winced and then deadpanned at the look Gaara was giving her. "The door's locked," she supplied and then realized that she was locked in a room with Gaara with nothing to do until someone unlocked it from the outside.

She started to shiver.

"Are you okay?"

He had come up behind her. Why hadn't she noticed him moving? She shifted slightly away from him. "Well, um, the door's locked, so I guess we should..."

"We should what?"

She gulped again. She remembered Gaara from the preteen fights that had usually ended up with Gaara standing over a bleeding Sasuke. Then Naruto had decided to step in and the two were good friends. He was just so strong, if he wanted to try something–

She bumped into the wall, the breath suddenly crushed from her body. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage.

"W–we should, um..."

Gaara brought his fingers up to her face, brushing them over her lips. "I like this."

She was shaking almost violently now, her stomach knotted beyond comprehension. "I, um..."

Why couldn't she stand up to him?

"You've always been a kind person, interesting even." He said it almost absentmindedly as he slid his hand around her neck.

Then he pulled her into a kiss.

Wait. Just. One. Moment.

Kiss?

Sakura had been expecting him to choke her to death or bleed her dry with the pocket knife on his wardrobe.

She was not expecting to be warmly embraced and passionately kissed. She was not expecting her knees to go weak or her arms to wind themselves around his strong torso. She was not expecting his warmth to envelope her, pushing thoughts of the locked door out of her mind.

She _definitely_ was not expecting the door to open mid–kiss and for all of her friends to see her making out with her would–be murderer.

"Uh. Gaara." She tried to talk around his lips, but he seemed to ignore the frantic looks she was throwing and the number of people straining to see into his bedroom.

Kankuro peeked his face around the doorframe, saw them and deadpanned.

Gaara continued to kiss her like there was no one else around, and Sakura continued to try squirming out of his unbreakable hold.

They broke apart only when a scream of anger tore through the house.

"_He's doing what with Sakura?"_

They traded looks, one amused and one terrified, before speaking in unison.

"Temari."


	13. The Right Answer

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and he doesn't own me.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 13: The Right Answer**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Sakura sighed and rolled over.

Last night she'd had amazing sex with her slightly masochistic boyfriend for the third time this week and she didn't know how to handle it. After her last nutjob boyfriend, she'd wanted something slightly warmer, more comforting in a guy. He had been indifferent towards her, right up to the point where he had her shoved up against the bathroom wall, gasping for breath. Sakura sighed again; she'd told him that she wanted courtesy and affection all the time, not just at two in the morning, then he'd dumped her and she'd broken his nose.

Reaching over, she flipped on the light and made to get up only to be stopped by a pale arm gripping her midriff and pulling her backwards. Sakura giggled helplessly; he could be like a child sometimes, always wanting something to snuggle with. She brushed her lips across his cheek, wrapping her arms around his warm torso. He nuzzled her collarbone in response, humming slightly. "Good morning, Sakura..." His calloused hands covered hers completely.

"Good morning, Gaara." He pressed her more tightly against him, eliciting a moan from her plush pink lips. Her fingers buried themselves in his thick scarlet mane, knowing that she wouldn't be getting much work done this morning.

She supposed (as he trailed kisses over her bellybutton) that she was attracted to the troubled guys: first Naruto, then Sai, then Sasuke... and now Gaara. The problem was she'd really liked all of them. At some point or another they'd given her a feeling of complete confidence and joy, she thought as he rocked him hips slightly, making her eyes roll up in her head. But with Gaara... she felt that way all the time.

After a few minutes she pressed a hand to his lean chest, breathing harshly after the way he'd made her scream– She firmly forbade herself to give into the urge to melt under him. There was something she needed to know, a question that the others had gotten wrong, oh so wrong.

"Sabaku no Gaara, why do you love me?"

Their green eyes met in a moment of silence. Then Gaara blinked slowly. "Because you're you. Don't you love me for the same reason?"

Sakura felt like the world had stopped around them. He'd given her a perfect answer.

When she'd asked Naruto, he'd started listing her personality traits; when she'd asked Sai, he'd told her it was because she was beautiful; when she'd asked Sasuke, he'd replied that he didn't, that he needed her like he needed oxygen. That was two days before he'd been sent to the hospital with blood gushing out of his nose.

Sakura leaned over to kiss her red-haired loveras her mind tried to come up with an answer. What could she possibly say? Should she talk about his unthinking kindness and gentle manner? Or his strong arms and blissful expression? Maybe his fierce loyalty and dedication to those under his protection?

Her eyes, apple green to his teal, lighted with elation. "How could I not?"

There was something about this cuddly, loveable outcast with a cynical outlook and a strawberry ice cream fetish that made everything they did seem so right. Like the way he was kissing her now, a devilish grin planted on his lips as he hugged her close.

There was something unbelievably right about Gaara.


	14. Bittersweet Apologies and a Deathwish

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and he doesn't own me.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 14: Bittersweet Apologies and a Deathwish**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Pouring in chakra.

Pressing dripping hands into sticky flesh, using strength of will to bind the soul to the body. Screaming for pain medication, stuffing bones and blood back into their places, praying for the ability to save a life.

Sakura shook her head, humming softly to block out the memories that haunted her jade green eyes. Anything, to stop the blood, anything. Anything at all.

She stumbled out of the hospital's doors, letting her night's low murmur filter through her mind. _Sake. I need it..._ She shivered, digging some money out of her pack and lurching up to the nearest booth in the open air market. She shoved the money into the vendor's hand, ignoring the sticky feeling of the sake bottles against her skin.

She made her way back to her apartment, her first bottle empty with the second close behind it. _Now I know why Tsunade drinks like she does... if I could just into my damn apartment..._

While she fumbled to find her keys, she realized vaguely that someone was watching her from the shadows of her balcony. Although she knew she should be wary, she turned her head away, hearing the lock click open at last. _They'll go away... they can't be looking for me... they probably want... someone else..._

As she pushed the door forward and flicked on her porch lights out of habit, she caught a glimpse of pale green eyes watching her balefully from beneath a shock of scarlet hair. She knew those eyes. She quickly looked down, almost smiling at the irony.

"Please come in...Kazekage–sama." Although her speech was slurred from alcohol, she knew he'd heard her; a ninja of his caliber would have been able to distinguish that at over a hundred yards.

She didn't feel guilty about her rude behavior as he followed her in because her head was still swimming with thoughts of the carnage she'd left behind her. Feeling the tears race down her dirty cheeks, she took another harsh swig of sake, wiping her face with the back of her hand. She walked to her room silently, not caring about her appearance as she stepped out of her shoes.

_...the world should just end right now...that would be so nice..._

Her bed was crisp, folded as perfectly as the way she'd left it that morning. For some reason that made her breath catch in the back of her throat, sobs waiting to escape. She brought the bottle to her quivering lips once again, hands shaking from shock and sorrow.

Her mouth was full of burning liquid, searing her tongue, twisting her flesh, shrieking in her mind, _it tastes like blood, it tastes like blood, IT TASTES LIKE BLOOD!_

She fell to her knees, puking violently as she cringed towards the floor. There wasn't enough sake in the world to keep her from remembering the foul stench that permeated the room of the hospital before the disinfectant was applied. Sometimes she could still feel their hands, grasping her clothing, begging for relief, trying to convey their sense of pain–

She felt her stomach heave, but there was nothing in her stomach save the sake she was still trying to force between her shaking lips.

Then someone lifted the bottle from her grasp, using his other hand to pull the hair out of her eyes. It was long, the longest she'd kept it since the chunnin exams Forest of Death, but even her thick pink curtain couldn't hide her from Gaara's frown as he pulled her body upright.

Motionless as a doll, she let her limp limbs be steered towards the bathroom, where he made her sit on the cold floor with her head between her legs.

She didn't look up at he filled her tub with steaming hot water and barely flinched as a scalding towel wiped the worst of the grime off of her tear–stained face. She did awaken slightly when he attempted to unzip her skirt.

Her green eyes met his as her fingers closed over the hands on her hips.

Her glare said it all. "I can get out of my clothes alone."

"And if you don't do it, I'll do it for you. Get in the water." Gaara's impassive expression was underscored by his words.

He turned away, arms crossed as she slowly slid from her soiled clothes and inched her way into the steaming water. Her head and shoulders were above the water line as she stared into her reflection. She could let herself fall forward, drown silently, all it would take was a moment–

As if he'd heard her thoughts, Gaara's hands grabbed her shoulders and forced her back into a sitting position.

She sighed. There would be no chance of suicide with him around; he could practically sense intent, and he could smell almost as well as the Inuzuka clan. She might have to wait until he was back in Suna. She sighed again, drawing her knees to her chest and shutting her eyes.

After a moment she felt a soothing motion on her back. She cracked her eyelids, turning her head slightly, and was amazed at what she saw. The scourge of the desert, the former jinchuuriki host of the one–tailed tanuki demon Shikaku, Lord Kazekage of the Village hidden in the Sand, Sabaku no Gaara, was soaping her back with a concentrated expression on his flawless features. Their eyes met for a second before Sakura sucked in a breath, bowing her head once more. She was too ashamed to fight.

She didn't know how much time passed before he made her get up and dry off. He made her some jasmine tea. As she tied her robe shut, she couldn't help but feel the ridiculous nature of her situation; Gaara had just given her a bath and was now making tea in her kitchen. All was not right.

What would Naruto say if he were here?

His expression in her mind's eye made her giggle, and it turned into a full blown laugh. She sat on her bed, eyes tearing up and body shaking, mind fleeing.

_What's the point?_

She was quivering not only from the laughter which racked her body, but from the sobs she knew lay just behind them. She was shaking with some unnamable terror as the breath left her body. She could feel it in her starved lungs as purple spots began to play across her vision.

Was this what it was like to die? Nothing seemed to matter anymore... not even Gaara... and his icy aqua eyes... his strong arms... his wild hair ... or his smooth lips...?

She opened her eyes to find Gaara's face pressed against hers as he forced breath into her lungs. She coughed and choked while he propped her up on some pillows.

"Do you want to die?" He asked it in such a calm voice that at first she didn't understand. She looked at him through a slight haze, drawing in quick breaths.

"Yes."

She could hardly hear her own words, but she felt her lips moving. Could she face what awaited her in Konoha's morgue? Her eyelashes fluttered.

Gaara was crouched next to her bed, eyeing her pensively. "You shouldn't. Life is important." He blinked slowly. "Don't you believe me?"

She nodded, crying quietly. He reached over and pulled her into a hug, which was somehow more frightening that his cold indifference. She shook in his arms, wondering why he was in her house, why he was being kind, why he was convincing her to live...?

She stopped crying after a while and simply hugged him, rocking back and forth as he hummed soothingly. He shifted her onto the pillows as she shut her eyes, wrapping an arm around her waist and lying next to her.

When the shaking had passed, she began to speak quietly, lips barely moving as the words hummed through her thin frame. "...I wanted to save them all, to stop them from dying, but I was too weak, not enough chakra, I'm an awful ninja, a selfish person, I want to do something, but all we can do is bury the dead, console their families, tell them they died for Konoha, tell them–" she swallowed "–tell them we're sorry we couldn't save them." She fell abruptly silent, her heart tired of aching and eyes sore from crying.

Gaara sighed into her hair and shifted his grip. "You are not weak. A weak person cannot cry for someone she's never met." He breathed in deeply. "It's my fault that those nin died."

Sakura laced her fingers through his, feeling the rough pads left by training. He squeezed back once, seeming to take comfort from this simple motion. "I was on an S–class mission with them," he said softly. "They refused to take orders from me when I realized the mission's object had been moved. I could have stopped them," he murmured, "but it would have hurt them. And I wouldn't have been able to get them back safely to Suna if they were unconscious. I was afraid to use my power to incapacitate them; I wanted them to follow me of their own free will, and in turn I put more blood on your hands." Sakura nodded. Gaara was here to apologize, but how did he know...?

_How does he know what I need to hear...?_

"How did you know I was working on them? How did you know I would come home? ...How did you know where I live?" She waited for an answer, quiet breathing almost deafening in the silence.

"I saw you help a dying man to peace and I saw you save a coward. I wanted to thank you. I found your chakra signal in the hospital and tracked your movements. Naruto showed me your apartment once, so I waited here. I didn't want to frighten you."

Sakura accepted this; drunk as she'd been when he arrived, she might have attacked him in the street if he'd snuck up on her. It was a good thing she hadn't tried anyway. She was completely drained of chakra and was drunk enough to be sick, so he might have killed her by accident.

She shuddered in his hold, glad of the warmth he exuded, but also nervous of his compassion. _He knows what it's like to be a murderer,_ she thought, _he understands the aching._

The world began to drift into darkness as she fell asleep, breathing deeply and evenly. Gaara closed his eyes behind her, humming with a pleasant buzz as he slipped into unconsciousness with her.

The sounds of their breathing mingled and stretched as the night wore on. When Gaara rose with the sun, he found himself alone, a note pinned to his gourd. It read simply:

_I'm going to the funerals. I'll be back._

There was no signature, but on the kitchen counter was an empty sake bottle filled halfway with water, a lonely sakura flower facing the sun.


	15. Deliver Us From Gaara

**I adore your reviews, so please tell me what you liked or hated. Remember, constructive criticism makes even the best writers better.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, bring it on! I live for feedback! =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and he doesn't own me.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 15: Deliver Us From Gaara**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Sakura wiped her forehead and sighed, satisfied. Suna's sick ward was being cleared out thanks to the Konoha specialty team that had arrived day before yesterday. Now maybe she could get some real work done–

"Kazekage-sama, you shouldn't be here, you could get sick-!"

Sakura sighed. The redheaded man ignored the simpering nurse and strode directly towards Sakura. Gaara stopped just short of her patient's bed, looking less than calm, an unusual expression on his classically calm features.

"Sakura."

The woman in question tore her gaze from the medical chart in her hands, catching sight of Gaara's glare. That was the look that made her want to yelp, but she settled for swallowing hard. He was standing in his sand colored robes, his chakra a blaze of fury.

"Gaara. What can I do for you?" She peered at him through loose pink bangs. He was cold, his stoic expression marred by something verging on worry. She tried not to let her smile falter.

"Come with me. You are needed. Now."

He turned away instantaneously, stalking into the hallway without bothering to check if she followed. He assumed she would.

Things must be very bad.

She ran, tracking the sounds of yelling through the twisting corridors of the Kazekage Tower and guessing rightly that it would lead her to Gaara.

At last she emerged blinking into a room filled with sunlight, air and screaming kunoichi.

"Save her! Do it!" Nara Shikamaru was panicked, eyes bloodshot and face pale. He was obviously worried beyond belief. "Sakura, she's hemorrhaging! Do something!"

Temari wasn't due until tomorrow; she must have ignored a nurse's warning and moved too quickly, accidentally inducing birth. Hemorrhaging was a bad sign, especially at this stage; the internal bleeding could kill her more quickly than the infection that followed. If Sakura hadn't gotten there in time, Temari might have gone into shock and the baby might have suffocated.

Immediately, Sakura summoned fresh chakra in her hands, thankful that her hair was already tied back. Temari's eyes were wide open as her screams split the air. Sakura pressed her hands onto her swollen womb, fear closing over her heart. If Temari had bled too much, she and the baby would die. Sweat beaded her forehead. Just a few more second, close this artery, seal this flesh, save her, SAVE HER!

Sakura stepped back, breathing harshly as one last shout tore from the pregnant kunoichi's body. Then a new howl was heard, loud and clear; Temari slumped back on the pillows, crying in relief.

Sakura raised the child quickly, snipping the umbilical cord and using a rubber band to tie off the little girl's new bellybutton.

"It's a beautiful baby," she whispered, wrapping the wailing newborn in a green cloth. She had wide teal eyes and her father's dark hair, just peach fuzz on her smooth head. "Just like her parents." Sakura handed Shikamaru his daughter and then collapsed back into a handy chair.

Temari was wiping her daughter's face and weeping, her husband by her side. Kankuro and Gaara were grinning broadly, relief lightening their heavy hearts and minds. Sakura just shut her eyes, exhausted and happy.

----------

When she woke the next morning, chakra replenished, she heard someone crying. Noisy, _healthy_ lungs- that was good.

Forgetting where she was, she rolled over and fell off of her bed with a thud. She pulled herself upright. Someone had carried her to her room and someone had changed her out of her work uniform. Stretching, she felt the bones in her neck and back pop in relief. She really needed to go to a bathhouse.

"Sakura."

As her feet touched the floor, her eyes shot up to meet Gaara's. She smiled. "Good morning. How's the baby?"

Gaara shrugged, sitting down on the bed beside her. "It's annoying. And it looks more like Nara."

Sakura poked him playfully in the arm. "Temari's a Nara too, so you're not allowed to disrespect their clan."

He nodded grudgingly. "I hope you don't have children."

The medic nin's green eyes narrowed. "Why not, Kazekage-sama?" She only ever called him that when she was angry.

He kissed her once, running his fingers through her hair and cupping her face. "Because I don't know if I could see you in that much pain. We should just adopt."

Sakura chuckled, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck. "But then who would carry on your line? I shudder to think of Kankuro's child becoming Kazekage someday."

Gaara growled deep in his throat and kissed her collarbone. "Don't ever mention the idea to him." He pushed her back onto the bed, peppering kisses over her bare shoulders.

Sakura slid her legs around his form. "So I can't convince you?" She leaned back, stretching as languidly as a cat.

Gaara eyed her form greedily, with a touch of apprehension. "I think you could, Sabaku no Sakura."

She laughed and pulled him down for another kiss, thankful that she'd fallen in love with someone who had such great body language. Gaara kissed Sakura's fingertips, making her smile. Maybe she could take her time convincing him.


	16. Paint Dry and Grass Grow

**3/15/10**

**I actually wrote this a few weeks ago, but it got stuffed into my school work. ^^;**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea that you want me to put to the test, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Did you somehow skip the other 15 disclaimers? ****I don't own Naruto****.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 16: Paint Dry and Grass Grow **

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Sakura snorted water through her nose when she walked into Ino's apartment.

Choji. And Ino. On the kitchen table.

She quickly shut the door and almost ran down the stairs thankful that her nose hadn't started bleeding. Nevertheless, she slapped herself once to regain her composure before stepping into the street. Her best friend had serious issues.

So maybe Sakura appreciated Ino's roommate's cooking, and sake, and supply of Icha Icha Paradise – but she would never voluntarily do what Ino had been doing with Choji-

STOP! Don't think about it!

She could be back at Ichiraku's in five minutes if she hurried, and Naruto was probably hiding in the back room. Hinata's pregnancy had given her jinchuuriki husband much to ponder, especially when he couldn't stop his wife from throwing up every hour. He had taken to drinking with Jiraiya, thankful that when he succeeded Kakashi he could keep the drinks coming all night long.

Sakura caught her breath at the corner by the Uchiha Compound. Her feet had taken her there unbidden, and she might as well drop off some flowers. The years of fangirling after Sasuke had paid off in some small way; she knew the area around the compound like the back of her hand. She took a short cut through an alley, heading towards the Yamanakas'.

Ever since Sasuke had given himself up to Konohagakura, revealing the true nature of his family's slaughter, Sakura had occasionally given flowers and incense to honor the dead. A stone wall had been smoothed next to the steel gates; Tsunade had commissioned the names of the fallen to be carved, shinobi and civilian alike.

Sakura picked out some lilies and paid for them, begging a few fresh tomatoes from a nearby vendor. Even the dead deserved something. She laid the tributes down by the gate, bowing briefly in respect. She noticed with a smile that Itachi's name had been written between his parents'.

The day was hot, and Sakura decided that maybe a drink wouldn't go amiss. As expected, Naruto was sitting with the equally burdened Neji, exchanging stories of their wives' odd craving. Sakura had a laugh as Neji explained how Tenten had pinned him to wall for finishing the chocolate ice cream. She told them to bear with their kunoichi wives, who must be having it even worse than they were; the idea seemed new to the boys, as though they were the ones who had to support another living being for nine months.

When she returned to her apartment, there was a package at the door, marked with the kanji for love. She squealed; it had been nearly a month since the last letter! She flew inside, ripped the packaging open with a spare kunai, and spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling it.

Gaara had sent her rare paints made from the exquisite desert rose because it was the same color as her hair.

----------

Gaara stared at the little vase sitting on his desk. There was a larger package next to it, but the plush blooms of the fiery flower drew his attention.

Had Sakura sent the water? Or had Temari run the vase under the tap to restore its vitality? It was of little importance.

He moved the vase to the side, focusing on the brown box tied with red string. His lips moved up slightly as he spotted Haruno clan's crest, the color of fresh blood, stamped into the side of the crate with enough force to splinter the planks; she'd obviously been excited as she sent this one.

Without further delay, he opened the huge wooden box. It held a group of potted plants (mainly cacti and hardy herbs) and a letter taped to the lid. He breathed in the scent of sweet vanilla soap that lingered from Sakura's touch.

The world was a brighter place when she was around, talking to him, hugging him, running her fingers through his hair...

Gaara moved the terracotta pots to the windowsill, making sure they were only in partial sunlight; he could move them to a greenhouse later.

Though the stacks of paper that weighed down his desk beckoned, his work offered little respite; his entire office was beginning to smell like Sakura. He trudged through the files for several hours before the sun started to set and Kankuro called him to dinner.

Nara was already there; he'd gotten a three month pass from Tsunade for solving an unsolvable code and strengthening Konoha's alliance with the Land of Waves. Temari was badgering him about his weight and force feeding him food high in protein. Kankuro walked in just after Gaara, followed by Matsuri. She'd shown some aptitude for puppetry and had taken to wearing Kankuro-esque facepaint. Gaara listened to their happy chatter throughout the meal, relaxed but wistful. He remembered looking at the flowers, fragile but so beautiful for their fleeting magnificence...

The cacti Sakura had sent, the pale night-blooming flowers... were the color of Gaara's eyes.

----------

When Gaara came home from a mission several months later, he found a sleeping Sakura twisted in the blankets of his bed. He moved her over, breathing in deeply as her faint scent washed over him. She smelled like cherry blossoms and sharp vanilla.

Waking in the middle of the night, she smiled softly in his arms. He smelled like sand and slow honey.

For this they could wait.


	17. That Team of Mine

**3/15/10**

**I wrote this one loooong time ago, but it got shoved to the side. ^^;**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: ****No poseo Naruto****.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 17: That Team of Mine**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Surveying her new territory, Haruno Sakura smiled faintly. She was head medic of Konoha, best friend of the Nanadaime Hokage, one of the Rosannin...

She made her way through the new hospital grounds, nodding to workers as she passed. Moegi, her student, stuttered out an apology and handed the formidable woman a cup of coffee. Sakura thanked her and drained the cup. She was thankful that she wasn't Hokage, although the village elders had considered her. After Tsunade's retirement, Kakashi had taken over for a few years. Then Rin had come back from her transfer to Rain and he'd fallen like a ton of bricks. Now Naruto was Hokage.

Or would be, as soon as Kakashi got around to giving him back the hat.

Sakura sipped the replacement cup Moegi had brought her, attacking her paperwork with a vengeance. Let Naruto deal with the non-medical aspects of a thriving shinobi village as she figured out how to save lives.

When the clock on the Hokage Tower struck noon, Sakura blinked away the fatigue in her eyes. All the jutsus in the world couldn't replace a cup of hot sake to slake her thirst. She gave Moegi a stack of reports to file and transported to Naruto's office, disregarding the irritated looks from Hayate and Genma, the jonin on guard duty.

Her appearance went unnoticed by Naruto, who was gesturing animatedly as he spoke Konohamaru, one of Jiraiya's new books open on the desk between them.

"-and this is how you really get her to-"

Sakura smacked the Hokage on the back of his blonde head and laughed as he cursed.

"Teaching Konohamaru your tricks to getting girls?" The chunin in question flushed in his seat. He _really_ did not want to be caught between the two Rosannin if it came to a fight. His silent sidling towards an open window went unnoticed and he had a chance to casually stuff the Icha Icha Paradise volume in his back pocket. He could hear them as he formed the signs to transport, as Sakura and Naruto bickered about her complete lack of respect, then about _his_ complete lack of respect.

Neither of them noticed when sand grains crept under the door. By the time they recognized the signs and regained their composure, Gaara had opened the door and stepped over the threshold. He nodded stoically to the frozen Rosannin and took the vacant seat, eyes lingering on Sakura. His cool blue eyes seemed to survey them with no little disinterest, though in truth he was anything but calm.

"Gaara? What are you doing here?" Naruto grinned and gave the slightly shorter man a bone-crushing hug. "You haven't responded to my letter in ages!"

The former jinchuuriki folded his arms. Once more his gaze rested on Sakura, who was standing stock still. "Do you still want to come back with me?" He asked blatantly, making her blush and look away. "The elders have revised their earlier decision."

Was he really asking her now? In front of Naruto? The only thing that could make this worse was-

"Naruto! I've got those stupid reports from Kiba–hey! Why's Gaara...?" Sasuke stared at them in complete confusion.

Sakura felt her palm hit her face.

Gaara blinked at the intrusion, nonplussed. "I am asking Sakura to marry me."

Sakura blanched, hardly daring to look at her teammates' faces. Naruto was clearly in the fuzzy state between shock and unconsciousness; Sasuke turned white, then red, then puce as he tried to fit his mental view of the world around Gaara proposing to Sakura. It didn't click, and he took the time-tested route of disbelief. A forced smile crossed his face. "You almost had me with that one Gaara; you're really getting good at jokes! I'm really sorry, but I just need to borrow Naruto for a sec-"

"Sasuke, he's serious. Your reports on the population can wait until after I decide if I'm going to marry the Kazekage."

She pinched the bridge of her nose as Sasuke's mouth opened and closed silently. "Now, Gaara? You had to ask now? I just got the hospital sorted out the way I like it and Moegi's almost done with her training-" she shut up abruptly, glaring. "You knew she was ready to replace me, didn't you? Have you had someone following me? Did your spies keep you informed of my drinking records as well?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Sakura, it's now or never. If you do not come back with this clone, I will not be able to allow you into the desert again. If you died in my element, how could I bear it? It would be too painful to live with."

Sakura got the feeling this was Gaara's unbearably adorable version of puppy-dog eyes.

Letting out a groan of frustration, she turned to the window that overlooked Konoha. She could still feel three pairs of eyes on her. These people had _no_ sense of timing. Did she want it? That soppy stuff about him committing suicide had been mostly to convince her... but she knew it was probably true on some level. She glanced at Gaara, feeling her heart speed up. Yes, she wanted it. So she would have to answer him, right here, right now.

"I'll marry you, Sabaku no Gaara."

At which point the world seemed to rip apart at the seams: Gaara started crying slowly for joy, Sasuke fell backwards in a dead faint and Naruto raised his hands to the heavens, laughing maniacally.

Sakura wondered desperately why she hadn't had any sake yet.


	18. Offbeat

**5/7/10**

**Just for fun. You know how it is.**

**My reviewers have my undying love. Dattebayo! XD**

**Written because I couldn't find any lined paper at my mom's apartment.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 18: Offbeat**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Sakura and Gaara had never had a 'moment.'

Their eyes never met across crowded rooms. She never knew what he was thinking. He never threw pebbles at her window.

––––––––––

She wasn't a princess.

She was a punk, a heavily pierced high school dropout with hot pink hair and a criminal record of tagging. Her father and mother had died when she was young, and Sakura had been tossed around the foster system. On her fifteenth birthday she'd become an emancipated minor and had gained two new problems in the form of lazy male roommates.

He wasn't a prince.

He was a thug, a heavy metal junkie with martial arts training and pale eyes set off by the scarlet kanji on his forehead. His father was a corporate sleazebag, a filthy rich CEO who hadn't shed a tear as his wife died in childbirth. When Gaara turned sixteen, he moved in with his sister and brother, both of whom privately resented his involvement in their mother's death.

But sometimes, when they would meet unexpectedly, there would be a moment of silence. It was nothing dramatic. Sakura would notice his presence on the bus and nod slightly; he'd return the gesture with a slow blink of tattoo rimmed eyes. Gaara would be sitting in the library when a black canvas bag covered in buttons and patches would drop down next to him; his silent gaze would confirm her identity and then go back to reading.

––––––––––

For the first three months of their acquaintance, they didn't even know each others' names.

The day they were properly introduced, Gaara watched her step off the subway, crimson anarchy jacket drawing glances from the crowd. He took a seat on one of the wooden benches; he had to wait for the connecting train to his siblings' apartment. His light teal eyes flickered, following her as she made her way to the ticket kiosk to buy tomorrow's day pass. A man passing her grabbed her arm.

Suddenly Gaara's fists clenched and he felt the urge to beat the tar out of whoever was touching her. Why should I care? he wondered, running his tongue over his teeth in frustration. I don't even know her.

Then he saw the pink haired girl draw back her fist and break the man's hold, along with the cartilage in his nose. A grin curled on Gaara's face. Looks like Little Red Riding Hood is a Wolf in disguise. Picking up his backpack and laptop carrier, the redhead stalked over to the snarling girl who was kicking her assailant. Kicking low. Gaara winced slightly.

"–if you ever lay a motherfucking hand on me or any other woman I swear to god I'll kill you, you world class creep–" She pulled the now crying man up by his collar, furious green eyes inches from his, and Gaara calmly tapped her on the shoulder.

Gaara wasn't afraid of much, but looking into those eyes he wished he'd gone to church more often. The corners of his mouth twitched. "You might not want to do that here," he advised, gesturing discreetly towards the muttering onlookers. "People will panic if they see you kill someone, especially dressed the way you are."

Her eyes, once a ferocious cold green, had softened to a shock and wariness that he respected. "The pot calling the kettle black?" she said softly, releasing her hold on the whimpering man and straightening the strap of her bag.

He ignored her comment and made his way through the crowd, to a less densely packed area of the train station. She followed, as he knew she would, and her rage abated slightly as he picked a wall to lean against and pulled out a cigarette.

"Want one?"

"Not really."

"Need one?"

"Yes."

He held the lighter for her, taking a long drag of his own in the dimly lit corridor.

"Who are you?"

It was an obvious question, but he still sighed out a smoke ring before answering.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

"Haruno Sakura."

They stood in silence for another moment, smoking and trying not to look one another in the eye.

"Thank you."

He looked at her in surprise. "For what?"

She examined a heavily painted fingernail. "For stopping me."

"Would you really have hurt him more?"

His eyes were disbelieving, mocking almost, but her gaze was steady and unsympathetic. "I set my schoolteacher on fire when I was eleven."

He saw not a hint of falsehood in her matter-of-fact statement. Turning his attention to a passing train, he drew in a lungful of smoke. "I believe you."

Sakura nodded abruptly, as if this had satisfied her curiosity for now. "Goodbye, Sabaku no Gaara. Have a good evening." The words sounded peculiar in her mouth, as if she were unused to such formality with anyone. The only sound across the emptying hall was the click of her combat boots on the concrete floor.

––––––––––

The first time they kissed Sakura had just gotten out of group therapy, and she was ready to murder someone. Luckily, the café next to the library was open and she could take out her frustration on sweets. She ordered the first chocolate thing she could find on the menu and turned to survey the room. A bowed head wearing a black hoodie caught her attention; she knew who that was.

She picked up her food and the caramel coffee she'd bought, sitting down in a chair opposite the exhausted redhead. He looked up at her belatedly, eyes widening in shock before a smirk settled on his lips.

"Gaara, right?"

He nodded, sighing slightly and pulling back his hood. The shock of scarlet hair was mussed, both from sleep and from someone raking a hand through it. Sakura chose to ignore this, picking apart her croissant and just sitting comfortably.

They stayed that way for forty-five minutes or more. Gaara's only change was to steal pieces of her pastry and sips of her drink. Then they got up, more or less in unison, and walked out of the coffee shop.

The day was cool and comfortable. Sakura walked back to her apartment and Gaara followed, interested despite himself. When they reached the front door, he realized that he needed to say something to her.

"Thank you for the meal, Haruno Sakura. And the company."

She nodded, pulled her keys from a chain around her neck, and opened the heavily padlocked door. He stood there, waiting for a response of some sort.

Sakura smiled at him, the first time he'd seen her smile after months of glimpsing her on the train and around town. Her eyes rose to meet his, and for the first time he saw the flecks of teal in her eyes, like a smattering of freckles around her iris.

She leaned forward on her front porch step and pressed her lips to his. When she pulled away, the smile was still there, and he nodded his acceptance.

"Gaara," she said, face lit like the sun, "Thank you."

She waved goodbye, stepped into her doorway and shut the door firmly.

––––––––––

They saw each other once a month or less. Often he was caught up working on some assignment or she had a huge hangover and they passed one another more or less obliviously. But those few days when she would smile her sunrise smile and he would smirk dangerously, made the time in between seem worth it.

Sometimes they met just to talk, or listen to music, or have sex, or sit in each other's company. They tried their hardest not to be overcome by their selfish pride. There were no 'moments' in real life. There were just seconds, and minutes, and hours, and days.

Just breathing. Just thinking. Just moving.

Sakura and Gaara didn't need moments.


	19. Roommates

**6/19/10**

**I wrote this one in my head. Just now.**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: No poseo Naruto.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 19: Roommates**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! MY EYES!"

Kankuro stumbled out into the hall, clutching his face in horror, fingers smearing the purple paint. The door in front of him swung from the force of his exit.

"And stay out!" Temari, clad only in a sheet, slammed the door on her brother.

The puppeteer shivered violently from shock and fear. The second door on the right opened and Kankuro flinched.

Gaara regarded the scene with calm eyes, arms crossed over his bare chest. "Tell me what's wrong."

A shaking finger pointed towards the door. "Temari–with the–" Kankuro swallowed, "–the Nara guy!" The look of terror in his eyes made Gaara blink.

"Nara Shikamaru. The heir to an old, respectable clan. Konohagakure's leading tactician and a genius in his own right. Received full marks on his ANBU entry examination." Pale blue eyes transfixed Kankuro's. "I see no problem."

Seeing a battle he couldn't win, the elder brother fled the hallway.

Gaara turned back into his room and locked the door firmly behind him.

"Gaara–_kun_..."

He smiled slightly at the kunoichi who lounged on his bed.

"Why aren't you paying attention to me?" She stretched luxuriously, lacing her fingers over her head to warm the muscles. "I miss you when I'm in Konoha."

He dropped his lips to her neck, breathing in her warm smell. "Kankuro walked in on my sister and her lover. I wasn't about to deny her some fun."

Sakura giggled. "I'll tell Shikamaru you have his approval."

Gaara raised a non–existent eyebrow. "Why would you say that?" He began to pepper kisses over her bare abdomen.

"Well, what you said to Kank...mhm..."

"Do you think I would have bothered had you not been here?"

"No, I guess...ah..."

He gently ran his fingers up her sides, feeling the slight ridges of long–healed scars under his fingers. "I will trust Temari's judgment; she is undoubtedly more intelligent than I am. She doesn't hide her love from the world. She has no need."

"No way! You convinced a nation to trust you!"

"And she's been convincing other nations to trust _us_. Do you think we would be where we are today if she weren't my ambassador?"

"... but Gaara."

"Hm?" He paused his tracing of lazy circles around her belly button.

"...you're still smarter..."

"Why's that?"

She wrapped her arms around him and let his body press flush to hers.

"...well, for one thing you put a lock on your door."


	20. That Scar

**9/15/10**

**Yeesh. It's been three months since I updated. Sorry, but I was kind of busy with Conviction and Motivation and school. =) I'll try to update more frequently from now on.**

**This is chapter 20, so I put lots of extra special care and attention into this three part chapter!**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto. Is. Not. Mine.

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 20: My Scar**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

He saw it when she stood in front of the mirror, examining her nude form for nonexistent imperfections.

"That scar."

Sakura turned around, hands planted on her hips. "What?"

"That scar, it..." Gaara trailed off, eyes narrowed in confusion and strange emotion.

She twisted, trying to find the one he was talking about. "This one? The one from my last mission?"

"No." He stepped forward and trailed a finger across it. "This." He put his hand on the other half of it. "And this. One scar."

Green eyes blinked. "Oh... that scar. That's Sasori's scar."

"Sasori's scar?"

"Yeah, I got it when Chiyo and I killed him."

"He... inflicted it upon you? That is why you call it that?"

"Yes." Her eyes changed, the jade darkening beneath her lowered lashes. "It helps me remember things."

"Like what?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Things like pain. And hopelessness. And being unable to do anything when someone I care about is in danger."

That took him aback. "You want to remember things like that?"

A quick nod. "Yes. Pain makes people stronger; relearning hope makes people happier; and feeling helpless just makes people determined to change." She put a hand over the front segment of her scar. "Sasori's scar makes me remember who I am."

His hand closed over hers gently. "But that scar is not Sasori's. It is yours. You took it, and shaped it, and made it your own. It should not be called Sasori's scar. It is Sakura's scar."

She laughed lightly, shaking out her long pink hair. "And what about you? Do you name your scars?"

He shook his head. "My body has no scars. I have never received any injury great enough to leave a scar inerasable by healers."

Sakura cupped his face in her hands. "I know," she said softly. "All of your scars are on the inside." They kissed briefly, a quiet acknowledgement of affection.

"Do you mind it?" came her quiet voice, hesitant but insistent. "Do my scars bother you?"

He stilled. "If I were still what I was before, I would not be calm. I would not see a reason to be calm. Even now, looking at that scar makes me want to kill whoever gave it to you..." He clenched his hands into fists.

She took her hands in his. "Look at me Gaara. You are not a 'what, you're a 'who.' And you're not who you were. Sasori is dead. Sometimes it's easier to hate than it is to let go. But right now there is no revenge to be had."

He sighed. "I suppose I'll have to settle for taking that scar then."

"The scar?"

"It is now neither Sasori's nor yours. That is Gaara's scar."

"Do you really want that?"

"To have a part of you that is mine? To take my revenge silently and peacefully? Yes. That is what I want."

"Then this scar is yours."

...

They lay on the bed several months later, curled up in each other's heat, waiting for the harsh freezing wind to stop pounding the windows of Sakura's apartment.

Gaara's hand lazily traced a flower around the smooth scar tissue just below her ribcage. "These clothes really suit you, Sakura."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "What clothes?"

"Exactly my point."

She smiled and turned towards him, slowly extending an arm that brushed over his shoulder and settled around his neck. "I wish my skin were as smooth as yours, Gaara. You don't even need to use lotion."

Playfully he nuzzled the skin of her wrist. "I would that I had scars, just to put you at ease. A scar is merely a part of you which is healed, which is stronger. I would like to know that strength."

"Do you really want scars? A physical manifestation of how life has shaped you?"

"I would like to be shaped. I began as a block of stone, but I've been taught to flow like sand. Scars are a part of your identity."

...

This time he was the one in front of the mirror, examining his pale hide front and back, trying to find the tiniest flaw that would somehow show that he was subject to pain, that he was human. Try as he might, he couldn't find anything.

"Still looking for scars?" She said sweetly, sitting up in bed, long hair pooling around her.

"I do not understand it. Everyone must have at least one scar. I'm certain of it."

"Well, you're right. And you do have a scar."

His heart sped, and he looked right at her. "Where?"

She climbed lithely out of bed and padded over to him. Her hand pressed against his navel, her palm completely flush with his skin. "Your bellybutton. It's the scar everyone has, no matter who they were, or are, or will be." She smiled. "Do you like your scar?"

He buried his face in her thick pink hair. "I don't think that counts, Sakura," he said, but she could tell he was smiling widely.

"You can't blame me for trying," she said shyly. "I just thought that you might like to have at least one scar."

"You could give me one."

Astonishment filled her wide eyes. "No! I could never..."

He covered her protests with kisses. "May I have some of yours, then?"

She chuckled. "How many do you want?"

"Any of them." He kissed her gently. "All of them."

She idly stroked the faint marks of his ribs. "But I have scars everywhere. Even if you can't see them anymore."

He pressed his cheek to her heart, listening to its persistent thudding. "Then all of you will be mine," he said, closing his eyes. "You will be my scar."

"An imperfection?" He heard her voice shake and pulled her in close.

"The healed part of me. The strong part. You will be my scar."


	21. and Legal, Part 1

**9/21/10**

**Been updating like crazy again, so expect more of the following: Conviction, the Medic and the Demon, Motivation, and maybe some other things if I have time or inclination.**

**Since this **_**is**_** chapter 21, I made that this chapter's theme. Please keep in mind that it's AU, and that I do not advocate illegal drinking. This chapter is two part, so don't stop here!**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: **Je ne possède pas Naruto. (Thank you, iGoogle Translator.)

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 21: and Legal** (Part 1)**  
**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Amidst the cheers, Sakura downed her first glass of legally purchased alcohol at the Hokage Tower, a club in downtown Konoha.

"Aw, but Sakura–" Naruto whined before being forcibly cut off.

"No buts, Naruto! You're younger than me, and that means I have to be the responsible one." Sakura sighed and put her purse on the table they sat around. "I am not buying you two alcohol! On your birthday you can buy us all drinks, alright?"

"Hn."

Sakura smiled in relief. "See, Naruto? Even Sasuke agrees with me."

"That's just because he can get booze from Itachi whenever he wants– ow! Sakura!"

"Don't speak so badly about others, Naruto! What if your mom could hear you right now?"

Naruto cringed. "Why do you think I went away to college, dattebayo? She'd never let me hear the end of it..." He mimed one fist whacking a punching bag.

The dark haired boy took a deep drink from his glass of ice water. "Well if you'd think before you speak, we wouldn't have this problem, now would we, baka?"

"Bastard! Do I have to beat you up again?" Naruto pulled his necktie loose in preparation.

Sasuke smirked. "Try me, idiot. I could take you any time of the day."

Two hands gripped their collars roughly, and Sakura looked from one face to another, ignoring their sudden expressions of complete innocence. "It's nighttime, idiots. If you two ruin my twenty-first birthday, I swear to god I'll..."

"Who's ruining your birthday?"

Sakura turned around to see who it was and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from shrieking.

"Oh... hi, Gaara."

His light green eyes trained on hers as he dipped his head in greeting. "Hello, Sakura."

"Gaara? What's up–ow!"

"I'm not finished with you two," Sakura hissed, and flicked Naruto's ear. She settled back into her seat and turned on her falsely charming smile. "Why don't you sit with us, Gaara?"

The red haired man blinked. "Thank you. I believe I will." He slid into a chair next to Naruto, on the far side of Sakura, and started speaking in a low voice with his cousin.

Sakura stood up and signaled to the bartender. "I'll have another beer, on tap," she said, before returning to their table. The man nodded and got out a clean glass to fill her order. The pink haired girl sat back down in time to hear Naruto give an earsplitting whistle.

"–already bought the ring for Matsuri?"

Gaara nodded, his face completely impassive. "Two weeks ago, in Suna. The wedding will take place sometime next spring."

Sakura turned to look in the other direction so the rest of her team wouldn't see her heart be ripped out.

_He asked her to marry him._

...

"_Gaara, this is one of my best friends, Sakura."_

"_Hello, Sakura. It's nice to meet you."_

"_It's nice to meet you too, Gaara. Naruto's said so much about you."_

"_He... he has?"_

"_Of course! You and your siblings are his favorite cousins, you know."_

"_...we're his only cousins."_

"_By that logic you _have _to be his favorites." She smiled, and he frowned slightly._

"_I... suppose so."_

_Sakura laughed, and he noticed the way her eyes were greener in some light than in others. "He told me you were a cynic, but everyone's a cynic compared to Naruto. I think you're probably a realist."_

"_Do you often judge people based on mere descriptions of them?" The corner of his mouth quirked in a smile, and Sakura considered how handsome the expression made him look._

"_No, but you've done nothing to disprove his words, so I think I can safely assume that he was telling the truth about the rest of it too."_

"_The rest of it?"_

"_Well, let's see... that you're from Suna; that Temari and Kankuro are your elder sister and brother; that you're a natural redhead, which is obviously true, by the way; that you don't like sweets except for honey; that your favorite pastime is gardening; that you're just shy, not antisocial; and that you're going to ask me for my number."_

_Gaara blinked pale eyes, frowning slightly. "Did he really say that I'm going to ask you for your-"_

_Sakura smiled mischievously. "No, but it gives you an excuse, doesn't it?"_

_He raked a hand through his blood-red hair with a grin. "Then I guess I shouldn't disappoint your expectations of me."_

...

_He asked her to marry him._

The words echoed in her mind as she went to say hello to her other friends. Ino was there, trying to dance with the socially inept Sai, and had a lot to say about Gaara's nerve in showing up. Sakura took it all with a polite smile, including her best friend's suggestion to "corner him and use those kickboxing skills to make him regret it!" She waved to Hinata and nodded to Neji, who was staring at Kankuro in unabashed jealousy for dancing with Tenten.

Finally, after weaving through a sea of people she didn't actually want to talk speak with, Sakura reached the dance floor and shut her eyes.

For a while the music took over every sense. The people around her... they were merely a physical representation of the beat, the noise that was pounding through her head and drowning her thoughts.

It was darkness, sticky, and toxic, and angry at everyone, like oil oozing down her spine...

Hands were all around her, but she didn't dare open her eyes, because then she'd have to think, have to feel it all again.

She'd been dancing with someone for a while, and she didn't know what his name was, or what he looked like, or if it really was a man. But she didn't want to stop.

The song was building, thudding to her heartbeat, and when it finally rose, she screamed.

It felt good to scream, to know that no one could hear her over the music, to be alone in the crowd, to be _separate_ from her thoughts and emotions. That scream helped take away some the pain that was eating a hole in her chest.

Sakura gasped for breath, chest heaving, as the DJ transitioned into a new song. The man she was dancing with pulled her in close (and now she _knew_ it was a man) as their bodies changed beats with the music.

Suddenly she felt a warm mouth near her ear. "You look good when you scream."

Sakura opened her eyes.

...

_His hands were rough, but she liked it. Liked the way his eyes greedily examined her form even when she was fully clothed. Liked the tiny scars in his ears from old piercings. Liked the pride he had in her intelligence._

_Once she'd walked into one of his lectures and dragged him out by the hand, just so she could kiss him furiously in the hallway._

_Sometimes it was worth it to argue with him, just to make up._

_And how to describe the look in his eyes when she pushed, and he pulled, and they were breathing the same breath..._

_It took Sakura a long time to stop drawing the shape of his tattoo on napkins, on receipts, on the back of her hand. Once she even drew it on her own forehead in red sharpie, just to see if she looked like him. All it did was make her break down crying and throw out all her red colored pens._

Why?_ she used to ask herself after yelling and sobbing for hours. _Why me, Gaara?

Why did I have to be the one you fucked up?

...

She was already moving instinctually away from him before her mind really registered who it was.

Then she turned and slapped Gaara.

He didn't look surprised, so she did it again. He frowned this time, which just made her shove away from him, trying to run but hindered by the mass of bodies surrounding them.

Instead of leaving, he held her upper arm loosely and guided her through the crowd. Sakura began to tremble when he pulled her into a dimly lit hallway.

"Sakura, look at me."

But she couldn't raise her gaze from the floor, couldn't do this all over again.

"Sakura, I just want you to know," this time he leaned down to force her gaze to his. "That the only reason I'm marrying Matsuri is because _you_ said no."

A few more tears slipped down her face as she finally looked into his eyes. "Goodbye, Gaara."

She left him to stare after her, as she returned to the music which promised to love her endlessly.

...

"_Gaara!"_

"_Hm?"_

"_N–not here, someone c–could-" Her shriek cut off whatever else she had planned to say._

_His breath was ragged as he pushed her against the wall one last time. Their worlds went blindingly white together._

"_Sakura...I love you..."_

"_Hai... Gaara... I love you too..."_

...

**Onwards to Part 2!**


	22. and Regretful, Part 2

**9/22/10**

**Since this **_**is**_** chapter 21, I made that this chapter's theme. Please keep in mind that it's AU, and that I do not advocate illegal drinking. This chapter is two part, so don't stop here!**

**THIS IS PART TWO. =)**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: **Je ne possède pas Naruto. (Thank you, iGoogle Translator.)

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 22: and Regretful **(Part 2)

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

Sakura blew on her coffee. "What a great way to start off the season, eh, Matsuri?"

The brunette blushed and nodded. "Hai, Sakura. I hope the weather clears by tomorrow."

"I'm sure it will," said Ino soothingly, taking a deep drought of tea. "The sky wouldn't want to risk pissing off Gaara."

Tenten sniggered and passed Hinata the cinnamon rolls. "Oh, I'm not so sure about that. He'll be happy as long as his girl is–" The bun-haired girl automatically looked at Sakura and then flinched. "Ah... gomen."

Matsuri didn't notice. "It was all rather sudden! I've had a crush on him for a few years, but we'd only been dating about a month when he asked me." She looked down. "I hope I don't disappoint him."

Sakura knew she should be happy for this girl, but privately she just wanted to hit her hard. _Honestly, has this girl no confidence? If she's managed to hold Sabaku no Gaara for even a month she must have some redeeming qualities, right?_

_Then what about us?_ asked her Inner snidely. _We were going out for two freaking years._

Sakura sighed aloud, and Ino noted it, making up some excuse to drag her best friend out of the tea shop in Suna. Only when they were walking down the street did Ino finally ask.

"Are you... you know... angry? With Matsuri?"

Sakura gave a brittle smile. "Not at all."

The blonde woman grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "You're lying! You're lying to me, Forehead! I hate it when you lie to me!"

At some point during the year since she'd learned of Gaara's engagement, Sakura had grown tired. Tired of lying to everyone, saying it was perfectly alright, thank you very much, no really, I'm _very_ happy for them both, actually we're just friends now – and Ino saw her snap.

It began when Sakura leaned down very slowly, slipped off her sandals, and began to run barefoot down the sidewalk.

Ino yelled after her, but there was a reason Sakura had spent all four years of their high school lives on the track team. She was down the street and rounding the corner before Ino even thought to pull out her cell phone.

...

"_Sakura?"_

"_Gaara! I was just about to call you!"_

"_Can I talk to you after your next class?"_

"_Sure! I wanted to invite you to go bowling!"_

"_Bowling."_

"_Yeah, I know... really cheesy. It's a surprise party for my friend, and she used to go bowling with her dad who died last year, so..."_

"_Um... I guess so."_

"_Thank you _so_ much! After that we can grab dinner and go back to your place for a night in. How does that sound?"_

"_It sounds... good." He chuckled, and she felt her heart skip a little bit._

"_I think so too. So I'll see you after class?"_

"_Yes. Definitely."_

"_I'll see you then, Gaara. I-I love you."_

"_Jeeze, you still have trouble saying it over the phone?"_

"_Are you smirking?"_

"_Are you blushing?"_

"_I'll see you later, Gaara!"_

"_I love you too, Sakura."_

...

She flipped open the sparkly cell phone irritably and dialed a number. "Naruto?"

"Ino! What's up?"

"We need to find Sakura, right now." She heard someone talking in a low voice in the background. _Is that Sasuke?_

"Oh shit! What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"Liar! Sakura wouldn't just go off like that, dattebayo!" _Is Sasuke... laughing?_

"But I just wanted to help–"

"Just tell me where you are! Sasuke and I will find her, won't we?"

There was a rumble of ascent in the background, and Ino paused.

"Naruto, are you and Sasuke...?" _Why am I not there to film this?_

"Got to run, Ino! Tell me where you guys are again?"

Ino quickly gave him the names of the cross streets and decided to speculate later about the possible relationship shared by the youngest Uchiha and the Hokage's son.

...

_He was sitting on the steps outside of the Medical Building._

"_Gaara!" She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, practically glowing._

_He wrapped an arm around her and took her books, despite her protests. "You must have had an amazing class."_

"_N-no, I was just... missing you... and I..." She bit her lip in a way that he thought should be illegal._

"_It's fine; I missed you too." He was silent for a moment. "Sakura, can we talk?"_

_She looked up at him. "Of course! Unless you're going to break up with me, in which case I'll have to duct-tape your mouth shut and list the reasons you love me until you see sense."_

_He smiled. "No, I'm not going to break up with you."_

"_Oh, well that's okay then. What's up?"_

"_You remember my father, don't you? From our horrifying family dinner?"_

"_I remember the part where Shikamaru proposed to your sister in the kitchen; that was particularly memorable. But," she conceded at his look, "I do in fact remember the red–haired man who glared at me through the entire meal."_

_They passed under some trees, and Gaara stopped near one of the benches. "You may want to sit down for this. It will make it much less awkward."_

"_Alright." She took a seat, and her boyfriend set her books in a neat pile to her right._

"_You see my father... he's decided that I'm going to continue the family business. Temari rejected the position, and Kankuro shows no aptitude for it. My father and mother have made it clear that they want me to have a strong... support system... behind me."_

_At which point he knelt, reached into a pocket and pulled out a little black box. "Haruno Sakura. Will you marry me?"_

_Hands shaking, she covered her mouth. _He's asking me to marry him. T-to marry Gaara. I could be Gaara's wife.

But only for a price, _commented her Inner snidely._ You'll be like a trophy bride. Did you forget that his father looked like he wanted to kill you?

But to be with Gaara every day for the rest of my life...

Is this what Gaara wants? He loves me, but he has so much potential, so much potential...

_Sakura looked up at him, decision made._

"_I am so sorry, Gaara. I can't marry you."_

...

**OKAY. I LIED. There's a part 3. I bet you're all thinking GOD, WHY WON'T THIS STORY JUST END ALREADY! and I promise, it will be over soon.**

**Part 3!**


	23. and Forceful, Part 3

**9/23/10**

**So... this is going to be a super-duper long ass chapter because I suck at ending stories that I really like. Bear with me, please.**

**THIS IS PART THREE! FINALLY! LORD BE PRAISED, WE'RE SAVED!**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: **Je ne possède pas Naruto. (Thank you, iGoogle Translator.)

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 23: and Forceful **(Part 3)

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

That afternoon, after wandering Suna in a state of disorientation, Sakura stumbled into the hotel room she shared with Ino and fell onto the bed. Her feet were blistered, and her head was pounding, but she still had enough conscious thought left for a little piece of self–deprecation.

_I hate myself._

...

_He stared at her. His face was full of confusion, bafflement, anger... and hurt?_

_Dreamlike, books forgotten, she rose from the bench. She kissed him on the cheek and walked away._

Gaara.

'_I am so sorry, Gaara. I can't marry you.'_

...

She woke in a cold sweat at around midnight. She changed into some pajamas, finally, and tiptoed around Ino's snoring form.

_I'm sorry, Ino. I shouldn't have been angry with you._

The door closed with barely a sound, for which she was thankful. It gave her leave to walk down the hall and into the common room.

Sakura started rummaging through the fridge and pantry, aware that she hadn't eaten since early in the morning. The clinking of bottles hid the polite coughing noise made behind her, so it was only when she stood up with a jar of peanut butter in hand that she realized someone was already in the darkened room.

"Good morning, Sakura."

Sakura dropped the peanut butter in surprise, staring at Gaara. He was in a pair of slacks and a t-shirt, his hair still mussed from sleeping.

"I couldn't sleep," she began, and he nodded in agreement.

"You know I don't sleep much."

The silence grew between them.

"I just wanted to-"

"I think an apology is-"

They both flushed and looked down.

Trying to break the silence, Sakura offered him the red jar. "I know you don't like sweets, but this is pretty damn good peanut butter."

He accepted it gingerly and inadvertently put his hand over hers, making them both freeze in place.

Then, very slowly, Gaara reached over and took Sakura's other hand. "You shouldn't run away like you did earlier. You made everyone really worried."

She looked down. "And engaged men shouldn't hold hands with ex-girlfriends."

"G–Gaara?"

Matsuri stood in the doorway, cute brown hair braided on one side, watching them. "What's going on?" She said nervously. "Sakura, why are you two holding hands?"

Sakura pulled her hand away quickly. "Sorry, here's the peanut butter." She let go of the plastic, startling the redhead. "I'm not really hungry anymore." Sakura sent a plastic smile in Matsuri's direction. "I'll see you both in the morning!"

As she padded down the hallway, she saw Matsuri's lip wobble and heard the faint noise of the bride-to-be whining at her groom. Only when the thick door was closed behind her and the light was off, did Sakura allow herself to sink to her knees and wallow in her own idiocy.

...

"_Hello?"_

"_Sakura? It's Gaara–"_

"_Ha! Got you! I'm probably in class, or at work, or studying my ass off at Ichiraku's Café, so I can't get to the phone right now. You know what to do. BEEP!"_

"_Well, um, it's Gaara. I just wanted to say that... that I'm sorry things didn't work out."_

_Sakura got home from her job at the hospital later that evening. She took off her coat and checked her answering machine. Her next half an hour was spent punching the tile on her kitchen wall, trying not to cry._

...

The morning started out well enough, considering that it was Gaara's wedding day, and went downhill from there. Sakura overslept and missed Gaara's parents' wedding video being played in the lobby. Then Tenten tripped on the hem of her own dress and spilt wine down the back of Sakura's favorite cream shirt. By around ten in the morning, when everyone discovered that Sakura and Ino were allergic to the wedding cake, he pink haired girl was ready to throw in the towel.

Just a few minutes before the bridesmaids were set to enter the chapel, Sakura walked into a closet for a moment of peace and found Matsuri wrapped up in one of Gaara's cousins.

"What the hell? My day is _officially_ complete." She slammed the door, anger flooding her veins as Matsuri dared to chase after her.

"Wait! It's not what you thi–"

Hair blazing around her, Sakura rounded on Matsuri. "Oh yes it is! It's you getting all mopey and wussy after I held your fiancé's hand then turning around and making out with one of his cousins on _the morning of your wedding_! It's exactly what I think it is!" She shook a fist at the teary-eyed girl. "You aren't fit to marry Sabaku no Gaara, so help me god!"

"And what," Matsuri said nastily, defiance showing through the tears. "You are? You turned him down, didn't you? You have no right to speak!"

Sakura backhanded her in cold anger. "At least I never pretended to love someone, you fool. At least I had the good-grace to give my all to our relationship. You will never marry Gaara if I have anything to say about it." She walked down the hall, feeling ice-cold on the inside, but turned back once to look down at the sniveling girl. "You weren't worth a moment of his time if you couldn't love him for who he is."

She stomped down the hall, threw open the double doors of the chapel, and marched down the aisle. Amongst the murmurs of her friends and acquaintances, Sakura grabbed the shocked Gaara by the necktie and hauled him into a kiss.

"I love you," she hissed, "And I hate that I love you, and you've been a complete jerk to me for two straight years, and we're completely dysfunctional, and you're just going to have to deal with it, alright?"

He murmured an apology, unable to take his eyes off of her face. "I agree – but can we talk about this when our families and other assorted loved ones are not paying close attention and/or filming us?"

She realized that the entire chapel was watching them intently and flushed a becoming shade of puce. "That's fine," she squeaked.

The priest coughed nervously into one fist. "Excuse me, but are you the bride? Because usually you kiss after the vows–"

Gaara quirked an eyebrow. "Sorry, but I don't think we'll be needing–"

"The hell we won't! Oops!" Sakura said, turning a darker red. "Sorry, I know it's a church and all, but how else are we supposed to get married?"

It was no mean feat to make Sabaku no Gaara's jaw drop. "You want to marry me now?"

"Idiot, I _always_ wanted to marry you; for two years I've been wondering if you wanted to marry _me._"

The red-haired man straightened the jacket of his tux and turned to the anxious priest. "Excuse me, Father, but I believe we'll need a moment before the vows." That said, he pulled Sakura into a deep movie star kiss, complete with cheering and catcalls from their friends.

Sakura smiled up at Gaara, her first real smile in nearly two years, and said, "Can we please get married now?"

Gaara smirked. "All you had to do was say when."

...

_Their first date began quickly. Ichiraku's was crowded that afternoon, but Sakura still managed to grab them a booth next to a window._

"_Do you come here often?" she asked with a smile, and he answered by ordering without checking the menu._

_From there the conversation turned to their pasts. Why was Gaara studying plants? What kind of degree was he studying for? Did he want to become a horticulturist or a botanist? Was he specifically interested in desert growing plants given the location of Suna?_

_Eventually Gaara managed to steer towards her interests. She was in medical school? Did she want to become private practice or part of a larger hospital program? Did she want to be a researcher, physician or surgeon?_

"_I'm interested in bioengineering," she said calmly, sipped her soda._

_He was immediately interested. "Animal, plant or human?"_

"_Oh, I'm learning about splicing genes to create a combination comedian, heart surgeon and tax collector. We call it the super-human."_

_Gaara smiled. "I like your determination. But wouldn't the negatives of the tax collector and the comedian counter-balance the positives of the heart surgeon?"_

_She pretended to consider it. "Perhaps, but our only other options were a priest and a politician, so we opted for the lesser of the evils."_

_Three hours later, after finishing the meal and going out for ice cream, Sakura walked into Gaara and, inadvertently, their first kiss._

...

"Haruno Sakura, do you take Sabaku no Gaara to be your wedded husband to live together in marriage. Do you promise to love, comfort, honor and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. And forsaking all others, be faithful only to him so long as you both shall live?"

Smiling like the sun, Sakura looked up and winked at Gaara. "I do."

...

**That's right. It's over. *sniffle, sniffle***

**This 3-chapter epic took as many days to write, and for these three days I've had a horrible cold. I was imagining better days while blowing snot, so to speak. Oh, and did anyone notice that I submitted each chapter on its corresponding date? Chapter 22 on the 22nd, Ch 23 on the 23, etc.  
**

**GaaSaku = Fluff = Luuuuuurv  
**

–**Blue**


	24. Starstrukk

**11/2/10**

**AAAARRRRGGGHHH!**

**Sorry. That was me flailing under the amount of AP European History homework I have. I'll return to writing fanfiction and procrastinating.**

**Surprise – you get a songfic! I heard this song and immediately thought GaaSaku.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Kishi, and the Starstrukk lyrics belong to 3OH!3 and Katy Perry.

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 24: Starstrukk**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

_(Cause I) Just set them up Just set them up  
Just set them up  
To knock them down  
(Cause I) Just set them up Just set them up  
Just set them up  
To knock them down_

_..._

Her beautiful, shameless eyes were clouded with lust, an unfamiliar emotion in such a pure being.

And Gaara couldn't stop himself. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, feeling the regular thuds of her heart again his cheek. She was asking for it, shaking hands guiding him as if he were the inexperienced one.

Her suddenly sloe–like gaze was offset by the slackness of her mouth as he did unspeakable things with the barest touch of his fingers.

Bottle green met the sky as her lungs crushed, muscles tightening, consciousness falling to meet the familiar boy with sunset hair and a tattoo on his face.

Breathing heavily, she stared at him with heavily lidded eyes, not trusting herself to speak.

...

_I think I should know how  
To make love to something innocent  
Without leaving my fingerprints out, now  
L-O-V-E's just another word  
I'll never learn to pronounce  
How do I say I'm sorry  
'Cause the word is  
Never gonna come out no  
L-O-V-E's just another word  
I'll never learn to pronounce_

_..._

When it happened she couldn't speak. Couldn't acknowledge it. But in that tiny moment which was slightly quieter than any other, she knew that he knew.

He pushed away harshly, slamming a fist against the dirty brick wall. She moved to stop him, but his expression gave her goosebumps. Nothing human should be able to look like that.

He pressed against her once more, knowing that this wasn't really over yet.

...

_(Cause I) Just set them up Just set them up  
Just set them up  
To knock them down  
(Cause I) Just set them up Just set them up  
Just set them up  
To knock them down_

_..._

First day, second class, and she'd been forced to share her textbook with him from the goodness of her heart.

Honor student. Prep. Coward. Fake.

She could feel the insults he was hurling at her from behind narrowed eyes.

She breathed in and out deeply, flashed him a forced smile, and asked to change partners. But he'd hooked a finger into one of her belt loops and looked away, making it clear he wouldn't tolerate anyone else.

So she sat back down and opened the book and bit the inside of her cheek when his other four fingers slid between her jean skirt and her skin. She wouldn't break.

...

_I think I should know how  
To make love to something innocent  
Without leaving my fingerprints out now  
L-O-V-E's just another word I'll never learn to pronounce  
How do I say I'm sorry  
'Cause the word is  
Never gonna come out no  
L-O-V-E's just another word I never learned to pronounce_

_..._

He first saw her outside of the classroom. His sister was tormenting someone, and a pink haired girl with fluorescent eyes had come up to yell at her.

His brother leaned against a wall and tried to sleep unsuccessfully.

None of them could sleep when he was interested in something.

...

_Push it baby  
Push it baby out of control  
I got my gun cocked tight And I'm ready to blow  
Push it baby  
Push it baby out of control  
This is the same old dance  
That you already know  
That you already know_

_..._

They kept the noise to a heavy silence, sure that anyone who passed the doorway would dismiss it as their overactive imagination.

But then she trembled and drew his name on his shoulder blade through the thin material of this shirt, and he felt himself slip away for a split second, into a world where everything was softer and pain didn't exist, and she was there with him, clinging to him and supporting him at the same time.

Neither of them knew what to make of the other. When finally they stopped shuddering at each other's touch, she buttoned her shirt and he pulled on his pants.

They opened the door, stepped out into the dim artificial lights of the photography lab, and stepped back into their separate lives.

But both of them remembered the place where worlds met.

...

_I think I should know how  
To make love to something innocent  
Without leaving my fingerprints out no  
L-O-V-E's just another word  
I'll never learn to pronounce_

_..._


	25. The Masochist and the Sadist

**11/14/10**

**SMRGLFLRGLFLP...**

**Sorry. That was me **_**suffocating**_** under the amount of AP European History homework I have. I'll return to writing fanfiction and procrastinating.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishi.**

**

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 25: The Masochist and the Sadist**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

"Hi! I'm Sakura! What's your name?"

But the dark-haired boy just ignored her.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm Sakura!"

He glanced up, and she could see that his eyes were the prettiest navy blue she'd ever seen. "Uchiha Sasuke."

She backed up a step. He was an _Uchiha._ You didn't mess with the Uchihas.

"Um, I'm sorry to have bothered you. Do you want to play?"

"No."

"O–oh, okay then." She turned to walk away, but he caught her elbow.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Sakura sat down in the grass beside him, smiling happily.

"Do you want to be my friend, Sasuke?"

"No."

...

"Hey, Sasuke, there's a party after school. Do you want to go with me?"

"Who's throwing it?"

"The Sabakus. Their dad's out of town."

"No."

"But–"

"I said no."

And of course, if Sasuke said no, then Sakura wasn't going.

...

The party was loud, and Sakura felt guilty for being there. But Ino had made her promise to at least show up and meet the new boyfriend.

She found herself sitting on a couch sandwiched between Temari and Gaara.

"It's a really great party!" She shouted to Gaara, over the music. "But I have to go in a minute!"

"Why?"

"I'm not supposed to be here!"

"Your parents don't let you party on the weekends?"

"No, it's not that. Sasuke said not to go."

Gaara stared. "Why do you let him do this to you, Sakura?"

She smiled at her redheaded friend. "Do what?"

...

"Sakura, I'm moving out."

"Y-you're what?"

"I'm moving. I'll need your help to pack up my stuff."

"But where are you going?"

"Do I have to tell you everything?"

"But Sasuke, you're my boyfriend!"

"I'll call you when I get settled in."

...

He was sitting on her doorstep when she got back from dinner. "Hey, Sakura."

"Gaara!" She ran up and gave him a hug. "What's up?"

"I heard you needed a roommate. Mine just bailed on me too."

"You want to share an apartment?"

"Why not?"

"Well, Sasuke..."

"It's not like he owns you, Sakura."

"I guess."

...

"So are you coming or not?"

"I'm really sorry, Sasuke, I can't go. I promised Temari I'd babysit her kids, so they're at my apartment right now."

"She dumped the brats on you?"

"Sasuke! Shikaki and Kairo are wonderful!"

"Brats."

"I can't go, Sasuke. Call me when you get home."

"Maybe. If I feel like it."

...

"Sakura! Ino's on the phone for you!"

The pink haired woman flew down the stairs and took the phone from Gaara's hand. "Ino? Hey! What's up?"

"_Sakura. Remember how Sai is a photographer for parties?"_

"Yeah, of course.

"_Well... it's about Sasuke."_

After a moment more of conversation, Gaara saw her eyes dilate, and he caught the fist she aimed at the wall. She'd dropped the phone, green eyes staring at nothing as tears poured down her face. She struggled in his hold for a moment, and then sank to her knees, weeping.

...

"Say it like you mean it!" she screamed at him. "Say it like you fucking mean it!" She picked up a lamp with both hands and threw it at him. He barely dodged, and it crashed I into the wall.

"Stop throwing things at me," he shouted. "We can talk!"

She shrieked in anger, pink hair flying around her shoulders. "I won't stop!" Her hands groped for something else to throw. "You've been doing this to me for fifteen years! I won't stop until you're dead! Get out of my fucking apartment!"

He ducked to avoid a telephone, a chair, three couch cushions, and after a moment's hesitation, the couch. Crashes echoed around the house as she stalked him from room to room, murder in her heart and bloodlust in her eyes.

The black-haired man pulled a huge canvas painting off the wall to use as a shield. "Stop it, or I'll tear!"

She pulled up short, breathing hard with a kitchen knife in her right hand. "Don't touch it," she said thickly through the ringing in her ears. "Don't you dare touch that picture!"

Sasuke just laughed. "I'm already touching it. Look!" He brushed his hands over the oils, leaving tiny smudges and fingerprints Sakura_ knew_ would never come off.

Her foot hit the glass shards, the remains of the television screen. "Just put it down, and I'll stop."

He shook his head. "You put down the knife, and I'll put down the picture."

Sakura let the blade slip from between her fingers. "Just give it to me, please." She held out her open palms.

But the Uchiha just laughed. "You always were so naïve, Sakura." He picked up the knife quicker than she could see, and slashed the painting diagonally.

"No!" She yelled, darting forward and punching him. "No! No! No!"

He evaded her other blows and smirked at her. "You'll always be broken, Sakura, always too fucking senti–"

There was the miniscule click of a safety catch being flicked back, and Sasuke froze.

Standing in the doorway, with a semiautomatic aimed at Sasuke's head, was Gaara. The rush of relief he felt at seeing Sakura unharmed was tempered by his renewed fury at Sasuke for daring to insult her. He looked disdainfully at Sasuke. "I think we've heard enough from you, Uchiha. Feel free to leave."

The Uchiha snarled wordlessly. "Whatever, Sabaku. Fucking scum." He spat on the floor. "She's mine, no matter what you do." Backing away slowly, he exited through the front door.

Gaara's gaze turned to Sakura, who was sobbing and clutching the remains of the picture to her chest. He knelt beside her. "Sakura, that painting was...?"

"My mother made it," she sniffed, swiping a hand to wipe away the tears that poured anew. "It was the only thing she was proud of." Her sleeve was soaked. "And he tore it apart."

Wordlessly, Gaara cocked the gun and aimed through an open window. "Say the word, and I'll shoot him."

Slowly she shook her head. "Don't bother." She laughed hoarsely. "If anyone's going to shoot him it'll be me. I'm so sorry I got you mixed up in this, Gaara."

He scooped her up in a hug. "Come on, it's nearly three in the morning. You should be asleep by now."

"I know. I was too busy trying to kill something." Her forehead pressed against his shoulder. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

He smiled wryly into her hair. "Just wait. I'm sure someone will walk into your life and sweep you off your feet."

Sakura looked up at him, suddenly aware of how close they were, and smiled weakly. "Maybe they already have."


	26. Sweet Tooth

**10/2/10 – 11/14/10**

**More GaaSaku... when will it ever end? O.o**

**I started this a while ago, but couldn't figure out how to finish it until now. =)**

**Requests are open, so if you've got an idea, please say so.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishi.

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 26: Sweet Tooth **

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

Walking through the door was like walking into a dream, all sugar and gossamer clouds. Even the air tasted happy.

He savored the moment when the door opened, and every delicious smell he could possibly imagine rushed towards him, eager to please. He smelled vanilla, raspberry, mint, rosemary, and so much chocolate...

And then she appeared in his line of sight, flour smutches on her cheeks and apron knotted tightly about her slim waist. She would smile, letting the expression lighten her whole face, and ask him how he was. He would answer, cool as ever, and order "the usual." And then she would wink at him and tell him to close his eyes because she had a surprise for him.

Surprises were another thing that made him enjoy being around her. Never before had unexpected things had a positive connotation. But every day, sure as sure, she would come up with the new flavor or recipe just for him, "the usual."

He loathed leaving, but he could only stay in the small sweet shop for his lunch hour. His father would never understand the joy of being around someone, or allow for an indulgence such as chocolate. He wasn't exactly lying about where he went for lunch; he had simply decided that his father didn't need to be informed of this aspect of his life.

One day he sat in her shop, watching her serve a young couple a plate of fresh boysenberry tea and orange swirled chocolate, and realized that this hour, five days a week, was the single happiest he'd ever been. He tried to ignore it, that growing sense of time lost whenever he sat through a lunch meeting, the feeling that there were things that could be much more pleasant about life, to no avail. Because every day, in the pink dress and grey slacks, in the red sandals and coffee-colored apron, she waited for him with a smile and a plate of something delectable.

So when she slid onto a stool next to him and passed over a jar of honey snaps dipped in vanilla crème, he felt the words slip from his mouth.

"Haruno-san, would you like to go on a date with me?"

She blinked pale pink lashes at him. "Sabaku-san?"

"I mean, if you'd rather not–"

"No!" She bit her lip. "I mean, I'd like to, really!"

He nodded, feeling his heart drumming against his ribcage like a battle hymn. "Hai... then I'll see you on Saturday?"

She laughed a little, and he noticed with a start that she had pale freckles on her nose. "Saturday's fine. Meet me here at noon?"

He didn't remember agreeing, or walking out of the shop in a wonderful mood, but he did remember the look on her face when he'd asked her. It was surprised, he decided. And rather pleased. This was new to him. He couldn't remember a time when someone had been happy because of something he'd said.

...

Saturday morning he snuck out of his apartment. It occurred to him halfway to the train station that he had no reason to sneak; his father would never know where he was unless he said something. Feeling suddenly bold, he strode to the curb and held up a hand, yelling, "Taxi!"

He had decided not to wear a suit, though he scarcely knew how else to dress. He dug up some slacks from his high school uniform and bought a light grey shirt from the clothing store down the street. It occurred to him that there was such a thing as _too_ casual, so he wore his regular brown shoes.

Within ten minutes of leaving his apartment, he had arrived at the little shop called Sugar & Spice. For a moment outside the door he hesitated, but it passed quickly. He pulled rather sharply on the handle.

Though he knew the shop extraordinarily well by this point, it still surprised him to see it unchanged on the weekend. He stepped in quietly, making sure to shut the door.

"Sabaku-san!" There she was, walking into the room, smiling like the sun had finally broken through the clouds. "It's good to see you."

"Hai. You as well, Haruno-san. But you can call me Gaara." He raised his hands. "I mean, only if you'd prefer to."

Her lips twitched. "Of course, Gaara. And my name is Sakura." She turned to the counter, kneeling so she could pull something out.

He blushed. "Hai."

While she was occupied, he pulled up a chair at the counter. "So where would you like to go, um, Sakura?"

She stood up, grinning. "Nowhere." She revealed what she'd been digging for: a square cake pan, the depth of her palm and the width of a tea kettle.

"Nowhere?"

"Nowhere," she confirmed, placing the metal pan on the counter with a clang. "I'm going to teach you to bake something."

He blinked. "Okay."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Well you're not going to learn to cook from over there. Come behind the counter." She gestured to the break in the counter that lay near the far wall. "We have work to do."

Patiently she showed him how to pour the already prepared batter into a mold and smooth the surface. He had no idea how to handle a spatula, so she guided his hands gently. But, despite his best efforts, she would not tell him what they were making; the fruit of their labors was to be a surprise to him.

Finally she opened one of the ovens with her big fireproof mitts and slid the metal mold inside. "It will be done in a few minutes, okay?"

He nodded unable to meet her eyes. It was peculiar, knowing that she'd taught him something so simply, something useful. It made him wonder what else he could learn about the world other than how to buy and sell it.

While he stared in wonder at the cake and she showed him how to frost it, it occurred to him that he'd never been happy before. Not once.

And he realized, washing down a slice of cake with some milk, that every day he could be happy. Not just when his father allowed it, or when his siblings could spare some time.

When Sakura insisted on cleaning up, he took out his cell phone and dialed his father's number.

"Gaara?"

"It's me, Father."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just calling to say that I'm quitting." He closed the cell phone on his father's screaming protests.

The pink haired woman wandered back into the front room, holding a metal tray in one hand and a pitcher of his favorite cranberry ice tea. "What was that about?"

Gaara smiled, and she blushed. "I was just getting my life back."

"Really?" She set a plate of danishes in front of him. "Well, you can't do that on an empty stomach."

Rather than take one of the cookies, he took her hand, and was rewarded with another becoming blush. "Haruno Sakura, would you like to go on another date next Saturday?" And the Saturday after that, and the Saturday after that, and the Saturday after that, and maybe someday all the days in between as well...

She beamed at him. "I would. And now, if the shock doesn't kill you, would you mind if I kissed you on the cheek?"

Gaara, startled by the ease with which smiling now came, shook his head.

Tentative lips pressed against his cheek, and then pulled away. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Not at all. Did it hold any unforeseen horror for you?"

"Of course not!"

Gaara smiled. "Then would you mind if I returned the favor?"


	27. In the Dark

**12/21/10–12/28/10**

**Requests are open. Comment, please.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Neither Naruto nor the lyrics "Brick by Boring Brick" (by Paramore) belong to me.

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 27: In the Dark**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

It began when Sakura requested a six month transfer. She knew that villages dotting Fire Country were in need of medical supplies and training, so she volunteered to begin that effort. Tsunade nodded curtly when she heard Sakura's reasoning, and sent her home to pack.

Two months went by outside of Konoha, and Sakura had never felt so free. She could go anywhere she liked, do anything she liked, and all the while she was helping people who might otherwise have died.

Her newfound satisfaction with traveling made her cocky, and she made two genin mistakes. She decided to travel alone, and she didn't take her headphones off when she left the road.

She knew it was stupid to keep her headphones on while outside of Konoha. Even while in Fire Country. _Especially_ in Fire Country. At least in enemy territory you _knew_ you were in danger. But she'd longed for the escape offered by such numbing noise, and her common sense had gone out the window.

And en route to one of Fire Country's outposts, Sakura nearly got caught in a sandstorm. When she realized that the wall of sand was speeding towards her, she swore, ripping the metal buds from her ears and sprinting towards the hills.

Then she heard the screaming.

She skidded to a halt among the outcrops of rock and squinted back into the looming darkness.

Someone was still in there.

Cursing her luck and her sense of duty, she turned to face the storm.

...

_She lives in a fairy tale  
Somewhere too far for us to find  
Forgotten the taste and smell  
Of the world that she's left behind  
_...

The sand was everywhere, pelting her body from all sides, scraping her skin, seeking any vulnerable point. She thanked kami she was wearing one of the travel cloaks issued to medic nin; the thick cloth even had a hood to protect the exposed skin of her ears and scalp. Her eyes had become almost useless, shut behind a knotted cloth to guard the sensitive membrane. Not for the first time, she wished she'd been born with a bloodline limit like the Byakugan so she could see even with her eyes closed. Another cloth covered her nose and mouth, effectively destroying those senses as well. All she had were touch and hearing.

She'd already dragged a screaming girl and her brother into a cave, but she wasn't sure there weren't more. So she was standing in the middle of a screaming torrent of sand, completely still, using chakra to redirect the sand away from her body, in the hope that any other survivors would reveal themselves.

They were in the very edge of the storm; Sakura knew they wouldn't have survived for even these few minutes if they were any deeper.

She heard something, a muffled sobbing, and Sakura felt a figure stumbled towards her, dragging something heavy.

Immediately Sakura started forward. "COME ON!" She shouted, and the roaring around her snatched her words away.

The person shrieked defiance. "NOT WITHOUT HIM!" The woman gestured to the limp bundle at her feet. Sakura knelt down and picked up the dead man, presumably her husband, and then grabbed the woman with her other arm.

She took them to the partial safety of the cave and headed back into the storm.

...

_The angles were all wrong now  
She's ripping wings off of butterflies  
_...

Slowly but surely, the storm was suffocating her.

The sand was a wall on every side, slowly draining her chakra as she kept herself alive, searching for civilians still trapped.

A knot of harsh wind struck her, knocking her to her knees, and she felt one of the ties on her cloak snap.

She screamed as sand like razors raked over her stomach.

"I won't lose!" She yelled into the swirling darkness. "Not to you! NOT TO ANYONE!"

The sharp fingers sliced again into her flesh, and she curled around the afflicted area, gathering chakra to heal herself.

As she let the flesh knit itself, she felt a massive cloud of chakra moving towards her. She finished and stood, gritting her teeth in preparation.

A familiar voice came from in front of her, but she couldn't place it. "IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"

She wanted to strangle whoever was standing in front of her. "WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SANDSTORM, YOU IDIOT; IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO I AM!"

She felt a wave of chakra pass through her, and the storm stopped around her. Gingerly, she removed the cloths from her face and stared at the man in front of her.

"Gaara?" she whispered. Then he attacked.

...  
_So one day he found her crying  
Coiled up on the dirty ground  
Her prince finally came to save her  
And the rest you can figure out  
_...

She had expected to feel instantaneous death, as she'd often seen happen to those who displeased Gaara, but it didn't come. A form stepped almost casually into Gaara's path and leaned on a gourd.

"You are trespassing in Wind Country," said the second Gaara. "And a fool for impersonating the Kazekage."

Sakura stared as the two identical forms glared at one another for a moment. Then the first Gaara chuckled. "Kai," he hissed, and his shape flickered.

Sasuke.

He'd used the sharingan to replicate the Kazekage's jutsus, and then mimicked his form to set her at ease.

Sakura backed away, numb, eyes fixed on Gaara and Sasuke as they measured one another's strength.

"Leave, now," said Gaara, in his gravelly voice.

The Uchiha's pale lips curled into a sneer. "Or what?"

Pale green eyes narrowed. "You will test my strength in a sandstorm, and you will not live to see another sunrise."

Sasuke's expression slid back to his classic arrogance. "I will leave, but only because I choose to." His dark eyes flickered to Sakura nonchalantly. "Do not cross me again. I will kill you." He sprinted into the sand, leaving Sakura alone with the Kazekage.

Gaara stood motionless, arms crossed. "You should not be here."

"Well, I don't think anyone should necessarily be _here_, per say. You may enjoy a good storm, but the rest of us have issues with them."

He eyed her injured form warily. "Are all Konoha nin crazy enough to go into a sandstorm with no experience?"

It suddenly occurred to her that she was also trespassing in Wind Country, and the Kazekage's threat to Sasuke could just as easily be applied to her. So her only answer was to shake her head rigidly. Silently she fumed, locking her fingers behind her back.

Gaara looked up into the darkness still swirling cylindrically around them. "We should get back to the village." He stepped forward and took her hand. "Stay close to me."

He pulled her into the sand.

...

_But it was a trick  
And the clock struck twelve  
Well make sure to build your home brick by boring brick  
or the wolf's gonna blow it down  
_...

There was something ahead of them, she could tell. An enormous cloud of chakra, presumably Gaara's, stood stationary in the midst of the storm. When they finally broke through the barrier, she gasped.

There was a village.

A civilian village, by the look of things. Now she knew what had been using so much chakra: Gaara was sheltering the entire place with a shell of sand.

He released her hand and strode towards an older man, leaving Sakura struggling to keep up.

The man bowed, the white braids on either side of his face swinging low. "Kazekage-sama, are there any survivors out in the storm?"

Gaara nodded to the village leader. "Hine-san, we located the missing villagers. Three are safe." He rested a hand on Hine's shoulder. "I am sorry, but I believe your nephew is dead. His family is safe in the caves a few miles from here."

The man began to weep, but wiped away the tears with one gnarled hand. "We will do as we must," he said tiredly, and turned to break the news to the rest of the village.

Gaara now turned to stare at Sakura instead. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from glaring at him and smiled tightly. "Is there anything you require from me, Kazekage-sama? I apologize for crossing the border, but I was running from a sandstorm."

He snorted, and she blinked. She'd never heard him laugh before.

"I won't hold it against you, Haruno-san. A sandstorm is certainly an overwhelming opponent."

"Not for you," she argued, then tried to swallow her words.

His eyes widened slightly. "Even for me. I am using most of my chakra to guard this village, and even I could not stop a storm as large as this without some preparation." He looked up into the sand for a moment. "Why do you think I sent Sasuke away?"

Sakura nodded. "You would have killed him, had we been anywhere else."

"And you would not have?" His brow crinkled in confusion. "After all he has done?"

She had no answer. Eventually she spoke through clenched teeth. "He was my teammate."

Gaara nodded. "You have your loyalties, just as I have mine." He turned to look at the villagers grouped in the town's center. "We will return to Suna when the storm passes. You may rest and recover from your injuries. I will send a messenger to Tsunade informing her of your visit."

Sakura desperately wanted to argue, but she kept her expression carefully blank. "As you wish, Kazekage-sama."

...

_Well you built up a world of magic  
Because your real life is tragic  
Yeah you built up a world of magic_

...

While she recovered from her wounds, she worked in the hospital. To her surprise Gaara checked in on her several times, usually just to say hello, but she could see he was watching her.

After almost a week of being scrutinized, not only by the Kazekage, but by his staff and every villager she encountered, she went to the training field and starting blowing holes in things.

A few hours in, she realized that once again, she was being watched. Shading her eyes against the sun, she saw a dim figure leaning against a sandstone wall. A figure with a gourd.

She stomped up to Gaara. "What do you want from me?" She yelled. "Why won't you leave me alone for one godsdamned second!"

Gaara just watched her. "Have gotten your anger out yet? Suna kunoichis usually don't need this long for their time of the month, but you–"

"Shut up!" She was shrieking now, she knew it, but she had had_ enough._ "SHUT UP!"

And then she slapped him.

It was an open palmed blow, no chakra infusion, meant more to release her irritation than to do any serious harm to his person. But, she realized with a dull leaden terror, she had still slapped the Kazekage. She stumbled backwards, noting the red glow on his cheek, and the narrowed eyes.

"You should leave Suna," he said coldly.

She locked her jaw. "I'm still working at the hospital." She told herself that the only reason she was staying was because of her patients.

He turned away from her without another word and stalked back into the darkening city.

...

_Keep your feet on the ground  
When your head's in the clouds_

...

Dinner was tense that evening. Sakura had been eating with Temari and a few of the medic nin from the hospital, but tonight the doctors shied away from her, and Temari was preoccupied with some reports. The pink haired woman found the meal a somber affair, and she sighed with relief when she was finally excused to her rooms.

_I'll have to apologize to him, _she thought._ But right now I need to change my bandages._

A few minutes with the gauze and some skin salve improved her mood slightly. Her bare feet hit sand as she stepped out onto the balcony to get some air. _What a day. Healing some jounin, destroying a training field, hitting the Kazekage..._

She sensed a presence above her and moved back quickly. A shadow dropped down, wielding a katana with skilled hands. He sliced in a butterfly formation, which she dodged. Then she attacked. Chakra scalpels to the hamstrings, forearms, and abs. This assassin wasn't going anywhere soon.

She pulled the cloth mask off the attacker's face and wrenched his head back with a twist of his hair. "What is your mission?" she said stonily, watching the unidentified nin struggle in her grip. "Who is your target?"

She closed the chakra points around his hands to prevent him from forming the seals necessary for a suicide jutsu. He swore at her and continued to squirm in her grasp. She shook him roughly and asked again. "Who are you supposed to kill?"

The man sneered at her. "You're a foolish Konoha nin, to strike our Kazekage. He should kill you, like the bitch you are." With that, he focused and bit his tongue hard enough cut it in half; he began to choke on the blood.

Sakura knew he would die in several seconds, one way or another. She jammed her finger into the base of his skull, allowing him an instantaneous death. The body slumped to the sandy floor of her balcony, and Sakura sat down beside it. Digging through his clothing, she found a Suna headband with a name stitched into it. The fool of a ninja had kept his wallet on him, and she quickly learned that he was indeed from the Sand.

"I should leave town now," she muttered. "Gaara's not going to like this."

There was a noise on the balcony beside her, and she looked up into a black rimmed gaze.

"I'm not going to like what?"

...

_If it's not real  
You can't hold it in your hand  
You can't feel it with your heart  
And I won't believe it_

...

The first thing he'd done was search for identification. Then he'd summoned two medic nin and a tracking jounin. The medics had taken the body down to the morgue, and a swarthy looking ninja holding a clipboard had questioned Sakura for nearly an hour. Then she'd been sent with her report to the Kazekage.

Now she was standing out in the hall, waiting for death to open his door.

She didn't have to wait long. A meek looking brown-haired girl in a chunin vest walked out and gestured back to the door. "Gaara-sama wants to see you now." She looked Sakura up and down. "Personally, I don't see why."

Glaring at the girl's retreating figure, Sakura stepped into his office.

She could almost see why he loved this job; hell, if she had this office she would take it too. It had an enormous window facing the city that offered a view of the horizon and the sunset. The chairs looked comfortable. There were three bookcases lining the walls, and a desk off to the side looked like a secretary's station. Even the lighting was beautiful, four cylindrical lamps hanging from the ceiling and a fifth sitting on the desk.

But that was unimportant. Gaara sat hunched over his desk, reading some report and stamping the pages as they passed under his inspection. He looked up as she entered and leaned back in his chair.

"In your time here, you've accomplished a lot."

She nodded silently. Why was she never sure if she wanted to be happy, mad or afraid in his presence?

"Since you have healed sufficiently from your injuries, the Hokage has asked that you be given a temporary post in Suna."

Sakura blinked. "Here?"

The Kazekage sighed. "Please sit. And do not ask me to repeat everything. In the week you've attended our patients, the survival rate has gone up nearly fifty percent. You are needed here."

"But... the medic program. I'm on a mission in Fire Country's outlying regions."

"You have been excused for the time being from your task. You will report to our chief healer in the morning. Is that understood?"

Her eyes never left Gaara. "How long am I here for?"

"Two months," he said, turning back to the paper. "Possibly more. Quite frankly, Tsunade is hoping this will strengthen ties with Konoha and repair the damage done by our dead assassin."

Now she felt her fury rise. "How was I supposed to know I would be attacked in what was supposed to be a safe house?"

His brow furrowed. "You are a medic nin. You could have kept him alive for questioning."

Sakura stood, placing her palms on Gaara's desk. "You obviously did not read the medical report. _He was already dying._ He'd taken a fast acting plant–based poison, one we have no recorded antidote for. If he hadn't bitten off his tongue and forced me to take action, he would have been dead in a few minutes anyway."

"You did not follow protocol. He could have been useful." He was glaring now, in that I'm–more–badass–than–you–and–you–know–it way.

She threw her hands up in frustration. "It wasn't like he was an enemy nin!"

Gaara rose. "For all intents and purposes, he was your enemy."

"And I killed him!" She yelled in Gaara's face, furious. "I killed some man whose only crime was loyalty!" She bit the inside of her cheek harshly and hissed. "I should have left Suna when I had the chance."

His eyes were narrow as he _snarled_ at her. "You will leave Suna when I allow it, and not before!"

She marched away from him, to the door, but sand blocked her way. "Let me out!"

He was less than a foot away from her now. "I am Sabaku no Gaara..." he began, voice poisonous.

She stared at him through eyes lidded with anger and exhaustion. "So what?" she asked softly. "Do you think your _title–_" she spat "–will do any good against a medic nin who can kill in milliseconds?"

Noting the sand swirling around both of them, she pressed her fingers to his chest. "If I cut here, you'll be lucky to live." She moved her hand to his throat. "If I cut here, you'll need more than luck." She slid her hand to the base of his neck. "If I cut here, the lights will all go out." Her eyes flicked up to his again. "Your sand could never get there in time to stop it."

His mouth was a tight line. "You would kill me, when you couldn't even kill Sasuke?"

She blinked and returned her fingers to her side. "At least he never put me in a cage," she murmured, looking down.

Hands grabbed her jaw roughly, and she was ready to render him immobile when lips dipped down to meet hers.

It wasn't expected, but it was what she'd needed. Release. No more failed diplomacy and pissing off the leaders of countries. Her fingers dug into the rich texture of the cloth at his back while he pressed her against the wall. Her tongue ran across his, making her shiver and pull back.

His eyes met hers hesitantly. "Is this... okay?"

The sensation of hands sliding over her skin made the decision for her. "I've been waiting for a week," she moaned, and he let his lips meet hers once more.

Their anger had faded at that point, leaving behind a throbbing desire that was just as motivating. She let him touch patches of skin she'd never known could be so sensitive. Her thumb, nimble but strong, made a slow circle on his right collarbone, eliciting a rumble of approval that made her more smug than ever. After another moment they both broke away gasping.

Gaara let her feet touch the floor again. "I suppose you want to stay, then?"

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck. "That depends on how angry you make me, Kazekage–sama." Her smile was feral. "Make me angry enough and you might have to deal with me for more than two months."

His breath next to her ear left goosebumps. "I'm sure I can find some way to occupy your time."

...

_But if it's true  
You can see it with your eyes  
Oh even in the dark_


	28. Games Part 1

**12/29/10–1/1/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. ****By the way, HAPPY FREAKING NEW YEAR!**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 28: Games Part 1**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

She knew the game they played was wrong.

Gaara's wide hands, fingertips nimble from playing keyboard, pushed her against the concrete column. "Damn it, Naruto," he snarled lowly. "Did you have to be so good?" His hands gripped her waist firmly in the smoky darkness.

Sakura's short hair, with its dyed black streak among the pink, fell in front of her eyes as she bit back a moan. "It was for you, Gaara, I was playing for you–"

His lips covered hers in a harsh defilement that both of them wanted so much. Gaara broke off the kiss to lick her neck gently, just below her jaw. "Every girl who heard those songs will be thinking of you, tonight, Naruto, only you."

In the inky blackness of their band's prep room, no one was there to witness the sick fantasies each was enacting.

Sakura's eyes flew to Gaara's face. "Just think," she breathed, knowing full well he wasn't lusting after her, "all those fangirls, and you'll be the only one touching me–" she gasped as his hand slipped beneath her skirt and did something unspeakable to her.

"Naruto," Gaara panted.

Sakura pulled him down for a kiss. "I know, Gaara. You love me."

...

She knew Gaara was using her. She didn't feel angry about it; after all, she was using him the same way. They were just two friends having sex. That was it.

She did feel guilty when Naruto looked at her. She was sleeping with one of her best friends because he was in love with their other best friend. All the rulebooks said that was wrong. But the rulebooks had never considered Gaara, Naruto and Sakura.

She couldn't tell what was right and wrong anymore.

...

She'd been the one to initiate it, surprisingly.

A simple question after one of their band's shows had done the trick, asked more out of curiosity than anything else. "Do you want to sleep with me?"

And his _expression._ Like she'd asked him to murder his firstborn child. "_No_."

She'd just smiled, knowing full well who Gaara wanted. Naruto. But Naruto was happily married, and he had never expressed an interest in men.

Sakura wanted someone too. His dark hair, dark eyes, dark mind, was all achingly appealing to her. But Sasuke had quit their band and hooked up with some loudmouth redhead named Karin, so she'd had no chance to act on her desires.

It was fun to pursue Gaara. And she had done it. She knew she had done it, seduced him, made him want to be around her. First he'd been a test, an obstacle, a confirmation of her sexual appeal. Men would _kill_ to have the lead singer of the Konoha Rookies. So why shouldn't she have Gaara?

Watching Gaara became habit; his quirks, his flaws, his weaknesses, anything to help her in her conquest. Red hair haunted her dreams, pale green eyes questioning her motives. Did she want him? Or did she want what she couldn't have?

As time passed and he still addressed her as Naruto when they were making love, she grew frustrated. With that frustration grew her will to make him submit, to love her, to need her, to want her, to acknowledge that she was the one who shared a passionate affair with him, not Naruto.

She had fallen hopelessly for Gaara.

...

The night after their tryst in the prep room, the band members gathered in Naruto's room for drinks.

It was pretty casual, but just the thought of being in the same room as Gaara made Sakura take extra care with her appearance.

For the first few minutes, Gaara and Naruto argued over which video games to play on Naruto's PS3. Temari had invited her producer boyfriend over, and the two spent the entire time making out on one of Naruto's couches.

Kankuro was trying to chat up the band's blonde manager, who wasn't having any of it and decided to go talk to her best friend instead.

"Sakura!" Ino had a huge grin on her face and a phone in her hand. _Both bad signs,_ thought Sakura as Ino continued. "You should come out clubbing with me later! There's a rave going on downtown, and they asked me to bring some friends. I think I'll invite Tenten too, and see if Hanabi's up to party. The members of Hebi might be there, if I can get Suigetsu to pick up the goddamn phone. Moegi should be in town, but she always out drinks me, so I might not call her–"

The blonde woman chattered on as Sakura feigned interest. She would probably end up going, if only to have something to do. But Ino just didn't know when to let up sometimes.

"–so maybe we should invite the guys too?"

Sakura snapped back to reality at Ino's question. "Oh, um, sure. Go ahead."

Ino looked flushed. "This is so great! We'll go in an hour or so. Just let me invite everyone else." She turned away to start asking the rest of the band.

...

Afterwards, Gaara steered Sakura to his room and roughly pushed her against the wall. She inhaled sharply at the dull pain in her back, but Gaara was determined, and her faint struggles did nothing to deter him.

He breathed in the scent of her hair sharply. "You..."

Obviously it had been hard for him to act normal around their band's leader after mentally undressing him. Sakura understood that. She brushed her hand over the top of his head and said jokingly, "When did you get taller than me, Gaara?"

He answered with a kiss that made her melt into his embrace. "Idiot. I should have told you how I felt a long time ago."

Sakura began to feel sick. "Wait a second, Gaara."

He shook his head slowly. "I'm not waiting anymore..."

She gripped his hand and removed it from under her shirt. His eyes snapped to hers. "I'm not Naruto," she said shakily. She looked down.

"I know," came his quiet voice.

Her voice and expression were equally blank. "I'm leaving."

He stood stock still as she re-buttoned her shirt and walked out.


	29. Games Part 2

**1/1/11–1/2/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. There WILL be a third part, thanks to Omba. =)**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 29: Games Part 2**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

She didn't even notice the tears on her face until Naruto spotted her walking down the hall and gave her a hug to cheer her up.

That, of course, just made her cry harder.

Why did he have to be so fucking _nice?_

Before she knew what was happening, she was in his room, sipping hot chocolate as Naruto looked at her expectantly.

"You were crying," he began.

"Yes." Over a jerk who had been using her. "I was crying."

"And you were leaving Gaara's room. You two have been sleeping together." It was statement of fact. "I was surprised when I first realized you two had something going on. Aren't you still in love with Sasuke?"

The words tore a frigid hole in her chest, and her mouth opened before she could stop it: "I'm not the only one who's in love with someone else."

Naruto gave her a strange look. "What's that supposed to mean? Is Gaara in love with someone?"

And, typically, she started crying again. "He's–" she sobbed "–in love with you!"

The blonde man recoiled, staring at her with shock and dismay. "But he's – we're just – he's my friend!"

But Sakura couldn't say any more. She buried her face in her hands. She felt terrible, having just betrayed the man she had recently admitted she was in love with. She curled her knees to her chest. She wanted to die.

Naruto sat a few feet away, clouded blue eyes revealing how deep he was in thought.

...

"Ino, I–" she swallowed as the blonde girl put more mascara on her "–I don't think I can go through with this."

Yamanaka Ino waved at her impatiently. "Sasuke asked specifically to see you! I talked to Suigetsu, and he said the whole relationship with Karin was a lie! She kept hitting on him and he wasn't having any of it!"

Sakura looked down at her hands folded in her lap, strangely silent. She had two tiny tattoos on her right hand: a cherry blossom and the Konoha symol, twining around each other. Now she stroked the pad of her thumb over them, remembering what she'd gone through to get away from Sasuke, to become Haruno Sakura again.

She asked herself if she had the strength to pull herself out of that sticky darkness again.

...

He'd never been more shocked. When had he started thinking about her spiky pink hair and flashing eyes? Why were the feminine breaths she took more agonizing for him than Naruto's laughter? When had her pale eyelashes become more appealing than her blonde friend's rough hands? When had it become more than sex?

When there was a knock at Gaara's door, he almost didn't hear it, he was so wrapped up in his musings. The second time he definitely heard it and crossed the room in easy strides.

He opened the door and swallowed.

"We need to talk," said Naruto, and pushed past him.

Gaara shut the door, a sour taste in his mouth. Had he finally figured it out?

"I don't want to dance around it," he said in his usual tactless way. "Are you in love with me or not?"

Gaara blinked once. Twice. His body felt frozen, but he didn't want to lie to him. He nodded stiffly.

The blonde man collapsed on one of the plush couches. "Well, you could have just said something."

Finding the willpower to move, Gaara took a seat across the table from him. "What would you have done?"

Harsh blue eyes narrowed. "Whatever was necessary to protect my friends."

"How is that relevant?"

Naruto gave him an annoyed look. "Because Sakura is tearing herself apart over whatever you two have going on, and she's still not over Sasuke. She's at that club with Ino now, probably drinking herself under the table."

Gaara felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. "She was in love with Sasuke?"

"For seven years, Gaara. _Seven_. I was okay with what you two were doing because I thought it would help her get away from that. But apparently just looking at you is enough to remind her of who she was when he was around. She was _nothing_ back then. She was his shadow. And that's all she wanted out of life." Naruto pinched the bridge of her nose. "She's like my sister, and I want the best for her. You _are_ the best, Gaara. I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings except as a friend." He stood. "And I expect you to do everything in your power to apologize to her. I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto walked out of Gaara's room, unaware that Gaara's newfound guilt was eating away at his heart.

...

The rave was louder than she thought was possible. She'd had drinks with strange names that left her feeling slinky and sexy. She was Haruno Sakura. Yeah. She could do this.

She wove through the dance floor to reach Ino, who welcomed her with a hug and laughter.

"Finally had enough of HBO movies?" The blonde said teasingly, and Sakura just smiled.

The songs were mostly thumping techno and remixes, songs with few lyrics, which was good; she didn't want to think of singing. She didn't want to think of anything except the music, and the room, and the warm bodies on all sides of her.

And without her even looking, he found her.

She stretched towards the ceiling and felt warm hands clasp around her waist from the back.

Ah... So this was what it was like, to find the simple joy of contact. She shut her eyes and danced as the music throbbed through the room.

Truth be told she didn't want to admit to herself who it was. She didn't want to wake from the world where she was wanted desperately by a stranger. She let the man's hands travel far past her normal boundaries, hissing at how good it felt.

She was willing to do anything to get over Gaara. To get over Sasuke. Whoever she was still in love with. She honestly didn't know anymore.

She turned around and wove her fingers through his soft hair, willing herself not to open her eyes and break the dream. This was connection, this heat permeating every cell of her body, turning the spark in her blood into lava.

He kissed beneath her ear hesitantly. "I've missed you," he murmured into her skin.

"I've missed you too, Sasuke."


	30. Games Part 3

**1/2/11–1/3/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please.**

**Thank you Onba for reminding me to edit and finish this trio of chapters. =) And since he/she requested the next chapter, that one will also be dedicated to Onba. Thanks!**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 30: Games Part 3**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

She'd ended the night back in her hotel room, Sasuke in tow.

His dark hair, dark eyes, dark mind – everything that had once entranced her and now made her feel like she was drowning.

She took a shower the next morning, hoping to combat the feelings, but the sensory deprivation only served to leave her alone with her thoughts.

Oh god, why did Sasuke have to come back now and fuck up everything she'd been doing to herself for the past few months...

But she couldn't walk away from this. She had missed him desperately, heartbreakingly, to the point where she couldn't breathe or eat without thinking about him and his wonderfulness. God, what he'd meant to her, the way he made her feel, the way he _still_ made her feel, her Sasuke...

And then he had kissed her again, making her eyes roll upwards, making her see something she didn't want to see. Not now.

She was selfishly in love with both Sasuke and Gaara.

It was like two strands, one red, one navy blue, had twined together and woven into her skin until she couldn't stand to be with either of them if she couldn't have both.

Green eyes. Devastating green eyes that had seen more of her flesh than any living being.

Hair so black it was almost blue, slipping over his shoulders in an effortless style that made her shiver with anticipation.

Everything she did just furthered the twisted path her heart had chosen.

...

"Sakura!"

Someone was pounding on her door. She stepped out of the bathroom, still dressed in her pajamas, as a groggy Sasuke rolled over in her bed. She opened the door.

"What do you want, Gaara?" She raised an eyebrow, feeling icy fingers rake across her chest.

"I wanted to apologize," he said, but she shook her head.

"I should apologize to you. I... I told Naruto what we were doing."

He regarded her stoically for a moment. "You told him?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "What, you thought he figured it out on his own? When have you known Naruto to be that astute?"

Gaara snorted. "I don't know if he knows what astute means."

A hint of a smile crossed her face. "Yeah."

That left an awkward silence until Gaara noticed Sasuke's sleepy form. "Uh, sorry to interrupt. I didn't realized you had a guest, Sakura."

Oh god. Now she had to introduce them. "Sabaku Gaara, this is Uchiha Sasuke."

Gaara's eyes widened. _Oh shit,_ thought Sakura tiredly. _Now he's got something to prove._

But all he said was: "It's nice to meet you, Sasuke. I'll take my leave, then."

Sasuke grumbled a reply and turned over in bed, still half asleep.

Before she closed the door, Sakura thought she saw Gaara shoot her a complicated, almost hurt glance.

It left her feeling sick.

...

Sasuke had gone. Put on his clothes and informed her that his band was leaving on a tour at noon, so he had to return to their hotel.

She should have known.

She got dressed slowly, knowing they had a few more days before the second part of their gig began.

In the common room, she sat down next to Temari to eat breakfast. Then Kankuro sat down across from his sister and Gaara sat across from Sakura.

God, the universe just hated her, didn't it?

...

Inevitably, they ended up together again. There wasn't a lot of willpower in either court, and though the atmosphere had changed, the experience had not.

The first time after Gaara met Sasuke, he'd blushed a lot and offered to be Sasuke for her. And then she'd doubled over, laughing at him.

"Don't even try," she said with a smile, attempting to stifle her humor. "It might be painful for all involved.

But it seemed Gaara wasn't willing to make her be Naruto anymore. "It's just for sex," he reminded her. "You don't need to live out my issues."

She cracked a wry smile. "Yeah. It was probably just making it worse, anyway."

He moved to kiss her, and she put a hand to his lips. "If we aren't being other people, we shouldn't have names. No names. Is that agreed?"

He nodded, shifting to get at her neck. "No names."

It was almost pitiful, the desperation with which they clung to one another in those uncertain months.

...

_Ino will pay,_ Sakura decided with narrowed eyes.

She had invited Hebi to the Konoha Rookie's after-party in Suna. What the hell.

"Oh, well now that you're back with Sasuke, I thought–" Ino said nervously.

"I'm not back with him!" Sakura hissed. "It was a one night thing! Why do you not understand that!"

Ino looked back at her with scorn in her sorrowful eyes. "Well, I figured after Gaara so thoroughly mauled your heart, you could use some cheering up."

Sakura stared at her in horror. "He didn't break my heart!"

Those blue eyes watched her knowingly. "Yes, he did, and he did a more thorough job than even Sasuke."

Sakura stepped backwards, trying to slip into the mass of people.

No. No. NO.

She couldn't do this anymore. Just as she'd thrust Sasuke out of her life, the darkness had wormed its way back into her heart.

She would have to find Gaara, end this before it went any further. She glimpsed his hair and headed towards his tall form, weaving through the crowd so she wouldn't lose sight of him.

He was talking to Sasuke.

Two sets of eyes trained on her as she approached, and two bodies moved into a protective stance. She stood between them, as always, her short figure eclipsed by these tall men. Even Gaara's lean lankiness engulfed her, as it always had. Both were glaring in a way meant to intimidate the other, but it was almost an even match for intensity. And each of them had grabbed one of her wrists.

"Let go of her," said Sasuke, eyes narrowing.

But Gaara was dauntless as ever. "I am not letting go of her."

Meanwhile, Sakura was staring blankly at her shoes, eyes wide from stress.

Why couldn't this twisted... thing... just end?

"I've heard the rumors about you two, but I was with her before you," Sasuke hissed. "I have a right to speak with her."

"You are no longer with Sakura." Gaara's grip tightened. "Obviously you did something wrong."

He'd said her _name_.

Wasn't this why she'd said no names? Because she'd known the effect names had, the intimacy evoked with a few syllables, the acknowledgement of some level of passion?

Names made her heart twist and wrench and bleed in her chest.

Maybe if she was fast enough, she could escape this... just run, and run, and run...

Gaara chased after her as Sasuke stood frozen.

Because that was how they were. Sasuke was her past. Gaara was her future.

...

He caught her.

"Sakura, you need to stop. Sakura!"

He kissed her.

"Gaara, get the fuck off–"

He apologized to her.

"Just listen to me, I'm sorry, okay?"

She stared at him wordlessly.

"It's not wrong to love more than one person," he continued. "After all, I loved you and Naruto at the same time, didn't I?"

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. "There's a difference," she said in a strained voice, "between physical and emotional love."

"I know," he whispered. "I know.

She barely felt the tear run down the side of her face. "Do you promise?"

First things first: he pulled her into a hug meant for the curious mix of friend, lover and beloved.

And then he promised that the games were over, and he really loved the woman in his arms, the one named Sakura who smelled like cherries, the one who understood the unrequited love he'd suffered through, the one who taught him that in games sometimes no one wins.


	31. Breakdown

**2/5/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please.**

**Dedicated to Onba. Sorry this took so long, but I've been pretty sick, **_**and**_** I've been dealing with school shenanigans. =) I don't know if this is quite what you had in mind, but I hope you like it! *hug***

**I wrote like four alternate drafts before I started this one. They're all completely unrelated except that Gaara is portrayed as crazy. Ah, I've grown to love crazy Gaara. We've been spending so much time together lately.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto.**

**

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 31: Breakdown**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

The cell was pretty standard. Four walls, a door set into one side, no windows, a toilet in one corner, a rough sleeping mat in another.

She sat shivering in the dark, head between her knees, staring blankly at what she hoped were her hands. There were black chakra seals on her wrists, and her ankles, and even on a slim collar around her neck.

She took a deep breath and tried to be rational. She could perform no ninjutsu or genjutsu without chakra, and her taijutsu would not impress the stone cube she inhabited. She needed to see her captor; maybe then she could negotiate, with violence if need be. If all else failed, she would find something sharp and end it quickly. That might be the best way.

Her head jerked up at a low grating sound. Someone pulled open the door, and she screamed as the searing light hit her retinas. Kneeling on the ground and swearing, she heard a low, familiar voice.

"Screaming already?"

Through watering eyes she saw Sabaku no Gaara lick his lips.

"That's good.

...

He entered again the next day at the same time, when hunger was beginning to gnaw at her stomach.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked, too casually for her tastes.

"Do you care?"

His face was expressionless. "Not particularly. But I must keep you alive." He stood over her, eyes cold. "Hold out your hand."

She didn't move.

"I've calculated that I can starve you for another three days before you begin to hallucinate. Would you like to test my hypothesis?"

Mutely, she held up one hand, feeling the chakra tag dangling against her skin. He drew a kunai from within his robes and slashed abruptly at her arm. She winced, but made no sound.

Slowly, he lowered his mouth to the cut and cleaned it, closing his eyes as if to savor the moment. "Your flesh," he commented, almost offhandedly, "is mine."

She watched with wide eyes as he finished and licked the remaining blood from his lips. She had never been so terrified.

...

The blood was what he liked best, she could tell. It excited him. Though one day he'd settled for breaking a single finger when, caught unawares, she'd yelled in pain.

Food came regularly now that she wasn't denying him. Every six hours, she guesstimated, though she had no real way of measuring the time that passed. There was nothing to scratch the walls with, so she drew in the dirt at the foot of the bed, a mark for each visit, hoping that Gaara wouldn't accidentally scuff out her marks. But it didn't much matter to her. It was just something to focus on when the darkness swallowed her again. Names, memories – soon all she could think of was her white cell with its little bed and high ceiling and the frightening silhouette made by the jinchuuriki as he opened the door.

...

She knew what Stockholm Syndrome was, or course. She'd taken a class on mental stability in kidnap and torture victims, and sections 13 through 15 in the textbook had covered the phenomena. But she couldn't help but feel that Gaara was still under there somewhere. Sure, he'd been badly affected by the botched removal of the Shukaku, but he was still Gaara, right? _Right?_

...

The sand ran around her torso, tightening inch by inch. She could feel her ribs creak, bones aching, and she let her head loll back. All he'd wanted recently was submission. Not even pain, but... acceptance of dominance.

But as she stared into the darkness, she felt him reach out with a kunai and carve a shallow line into her collarbone. Eyes streaming, properly chastised for thinking she could anticipate and pacify him, she felt herself bite her own lip until it bled.

The blade paused.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he cupped the base of her neck and brought her head up to eye level. He took in her deep green eyes, rimmed with red from weeping, her tears, adding a slight patina to her pale skin, and her lips, usually tight with fear and pain, now running red. Dripping.

He smiled, eyes wide, and leaned forward to lick away the fresh blood. "You shouldn't taste so good," he said under his breath. "Someone might want to eat you."

"Why," she gasped as he kissed away a drop on her neck, "are you doing this?"

He froze. "You dare ask that?"

She realized that the question was not meant to be answered; even without Shukaku, there were obviously voices in Gaara's head other than his own.

He pulled back, eyes almost bulging with rage as he shouted, "BECAUSE YOU WERE HIS!" Breathing hard, he tightened his grip on her neck. "He had everything. Everything! And what did I have?" He laughed bitterly. "A manipulative father, two siblings who loathed me, a mother that died cursing me, and an uncle who tried to kill me. Not to _mention,_" he growled, almost choking her, "the giant fucking sand monster they put inside me that walks around and kills people whenever I fucking fall asleep!"

He leered suddenly at Sakura, eerily calm. "But you won't leave me. The nice medic nin, who doesn't care about monsters, who heals indiscriminately, who bleeds such a pretty scarlet..." he let his head dip forward again, tasting the already clotting wound.

He giggled. "Aren't you lucky? You're the first thing I've ever been proud to have."

She stared at him, his maniac expression stretched over bloodied teeth, and the beast grinned back from deep in Gaara's cold aqua eyes.


	32. Black Market

**2/5/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please.**

**This was one of the other drafts for the last chapter, whose theme included crazy Gaara. I liked how this one turned out, but I felt like he wasn't evil enough (just creepy/scary), so that's why it was vetoed. =)**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto.

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 32: Black Market**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

The classroom's lights flickered out, and she was suddenly very aware of how large and empty the boarding school was. Everyone knew it was a bad idea to stay after school hours. There were rumors about creepy teachers, ghosts, all manner of mythical creatures...

She sighed. She knew it was a performing arts school, but people really had too much imagination. A person could go crazy if they believed all the stupid stories about locked doors and uninhabited closets. Not that there was anything wrong with crazy. It was only crazy, right?

Putting her papers in her bag, she missed the flicker of movement in the hallway. She did register the sound the door made as it slid back, and looked up. She stared.

She wasn't crazy.

Well, not 'take–me–to–the–psych–ward crazy.' More like if you pissed her off, future parenthood would no longer be a problem, much less an option.

He, however, could be 'take–me–to–the–psych–ward' crazy.

But the thing about crazy people is that they seem perfectly sane, until, quite suddenly, they're not.

He smirked. "I didn't think you'd come."

"I brought the money." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing beneath thin lines of dusty grey. "If you just want to talk, I can leave. I have studying to do."

He gave her a sidelong look. "The straight–A student asking for drugs? My father would have a field day with this." His father, the headmaster, had very strict views about controlled substances on school grounds.

"It's purely for research!" she protested hotly. "I can't get my hands on the things I need for my hypothesis on the purging of chemicals from flesh, and I–"

He stepped forward, putting a finger to her lips and reaching into his back pocket. "If you have the cash, you can have this." His palm opened, revealing a small plastic bag full of black powder. "Be careful. These are only grown in Suna, so if you're found, just say you got them on vacation." He set it down on the desk between them.

She chewed the inside of her cheek, suspicious, as she handed him the cash. "You're warning me?" Her flesh crawled, as it always did around him.

Gaara shrugged, his cool bluish eyes revealing nothing. "If you get caught, I could get caught. Besides, my father thinks we're fucking," he added almost casually.

Sakura prayed for patience, and shot him a glare. "What the hell? Why does he think that?"

"I may have said something." The darkness around his eyes just made them stand out that much more. "Just to get out of the house, you understand. Your virginity is safe with me."

"Virg–" she swallowed the rest of the word, willing him to die writhing in agony.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm. I didn't take you for that kind of girl, but I guess even that Uchiha asshole has to get some."

She let out a snarl, taking the satchel from the desk and grabbing her plain canvas bag. "Go screw yourself, Sabaku Gaara."

He started laughing hollowly and sneered, walking forward. "You think I'm some rich kid with a good vocabulary and a supply of drugs, whose only interest is in selling illegal stuff to my wonderful classmates?" He pushed her against the chalkboard, enjoying the look of horror on her face as she dropped her book bag. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

She looked up into his face, mere inches away, as frantic terror smothered her features, making breathing hard. She swallowed.

His sinister grin quirked, slightly higher to the left. "Well, you're _right._" He leaned forward and let his breath hit her ear. "Aren't you sorry, pretty girl?"

His tongue darted out and brushed the skin just below her ear, and she shrieked. Her hands came up, one palm to his chest, fist heading towards his face.

He stumbled backwards as her hand hit his solar plexus, but caught her other hand, smiling grimly. "I guess pretty girl knows how to fight dirty. I like a rose with a few thorns." His face, usually carefully controlled, had split into an excited grin.

"It's Sakura, dumbass." She felt herself shaking. "Cherry blossoms, not roses."

He released her hand, expression fading back to nonchalance, and slid his hands into his pockets. "I'll see you in class, Sakura."

Her eyes followed him just to make sure he'd left.

A few moments later, when she'd recovered slightly, Sakura picked up her things, taking care to put the plastic bag in the inner pocket of her jacket. "He _is_ crazy," she mumbled, shivering as she remembered the feel of his tongue on her skin. "I should just find some other way to get what I need." She stepped out into the snowy grounds, watching her breath form crystals in the air. "I'm sure Kiba is selling..." But she was kidding herself. Knowing what was in her coat made her skittish; she purposely walked on one of the less popular paths to the dorms.

She needed Gaara. It was a scary thought, needing him. _He_ was scary.

_Crazy._ She blew on her hands to warm them, keeping her bright green eyes turned to the ground. _He's crazy._


	33. Penpals

**3/15/10 – 2/6/11**

**I don't think I've ever taken so long on a story before. I wrote this last year, lost the paper, found it, and edited it today.**

**The next chapter will be for Miikodesu, a wonderful reviewer! *hugstodeath***

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishi.

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 33: Penpals**

**by Rachel Poulson**

––––––––––

He opened the letter hesitantly, but relaxed as he started reading. It was just a personal letter, not codes or information. But when he reached the last line, a 'P.S.,' he choked on his tea and Kankuro had to help him breathe again.

_P.S. Gaara, if I die on this mission, I hope you know that I'm in love with you._

...

[2 Months Later]

Sakura sat at her kitchen table, healing the miniscule wounds from her mission, when she heard a knock at the door. Standing, she knocked over a bottle of salve, which she barely managed to keep from spilling. Cursing under the breath, she crossed her living room.

Then she opened her front door, slipped backwards on the rug and hit her head on the threshold.

She lay there for a moment, pink hair fanned around her head and eyes staring blankly at her pale ceiling. _Okay. I must have done something really bad to get karma like this._

Kankuro, the person who had knocked, leaned over and grinned. "Are you okay?"

She groaned and raised a hand to her aching head. "Just peachy."

"So I guess you don't need a hand up."

She threw him a withering look and he snorted. The puppeteer helped her off the floor, trying not to chuckle in her irate face. "Temari and the Nara are coming to Suna; we thought we'd escort them."

Sakura sighed. "Temari will be a Nara soon; you've really got to stop calling him that. And he'll be your brother. Doesn't that count for some sort of camaraderie?"

Kankuro sprawled on one of her couches, considering it. "He'll have to do something to prove his worth first."

Sakura shot him a knowing look, digging a pack of frozen peas out of her freezer to nurse her aching tailbone. "Do I need to refresh your memory? Let's see..." she began to count off on her fingers, "...he beat Temari in the Chunin Exams; he helped her kill one of the Sound Four; he applied for a transfer and spent two years in Suna, just to see Temari; he's one of our top tacticians with an IQ of over 200; the Godaime trusts him explicitly, so he's practically running the operation to dismantle ANBU Root; his clan is one of the oldest in Konoha." Sakura paused and raised an eyebrow at Kankuro. "What do you want him to do, walk over live coals for her?"

"Hmph," he grumbled. "I just don't like the idea of her getting married so young."

Her snorts of laughter turned to gales. "That's bothering you? Kankuro, some girls get married in Konoha the moment they turn eighteen. Temari is twenty–six years old. The least you can do is let her know you have faith in her." She set a glass of apple juice down on the table and he accepted it with gusto.

Sakura sat down and sighed, leaning on her counter. "I need a vacation," she grumbled, setting the peas down next to her.

"That can be arranged."

She looked up sharply into Gaara's somber gaze. _How did he–_ She glanced at her door, which still hung open, and sighed. "It could?"

He let a quick smirk escape. "I am the Kazekage," he said simply, and she flushed, feeling foolish and embarassed.

"Not to mention," Gaara's voice continued smoothly, "Tsunade owes me four hundred ryuu in poker."

Kankuro and Sakura deadpanned for a moment, staring at him. If anyone had a poker face, it was Gaara; the Godaime must have been _very_ drunk to play with him.

Running a hand through his shock of crimson hair, Gaara looked back at Sakura. "We will arrive in Suna in time for the annual Star Festival. All residents are invited; would you like to attend?"

Kankuro wasn't very surprised at his brother's offer, though others might have been. Since taking the post of Kazekage, Gaara had learned more diplomacy than many would have thought possible. Besides, this short woman with pink hair had saved the brothers' lives more than once. Plus she was Naruto's best friend.

Her face lit. "Thank you. I _would_ like to come. But only if it's not a problem," she added with a smile, and Gaara hastened to assure her that it was no trouble.

Her mind was busy with plans for maximum relaxation as she cleared the glasses and walked into her room to pack.

_He must not have gotten my letter,_ she thought, trying to reassure herself. _He still doesn't know._ She tried to tell herself that it didn't hurt, but she felt the telltale ache in her chest.

...

Sakura finished stuffing some clothes into her bag, refraining from gnawing a fingernail in anticipation. Would her clothes be suitable for Suna? She should probably take a kimono, for the festival... Maybe Temari would let her borrow something or, better yet, take her shopping! She smiled. It had been a while since she'd bought new clothes.

Distracted by her mental list, she walked into Gaara and stepped back, rubbing her nose. "You shouldn't sneak up on people," she muttered, stepping around him.

His indignant expression made it clear what he thought of ninjas who couldn't walk stealthily.

"I know you're right, jeeze," she said, sitting down on the bed and flapping a hand at his silence. "Just sit, oh great Kazekage."

He smiled faintly and took a seat next to her. "I take it you're not afraid of me anymore?"

Her shock was evident. "Afraid of you? Why would I be? I mean, alright, you were kind of scary for a while, but that was years ago, and you–"

"Good." Carefully, he cupped her face with one hand and drew her into a gentle kiss. She didn't resist.

When he pulled away, he watched her face for any signs of fear or disgust. But there was a stunned smile on her lips, and she was blushing furiously.

She recovered enough to speak after a moment. "You could have just said that you got the letter, and saved some time," she said, voice cracking.

Gaara shrugged, knowing a smile was tugging at his lips too. "It wouldn't have been as much fun. You know," he added, "I ruined the letter with some tea I happened to be drinking. Do you think you could write me another one?"

Sakura laughed. "I'll write you one as soon as I get back in a few weeks. But you'll probably know everything I have to talk about. After all, you're escorting me to the Star Festival, and, if you're still in my good graces, walking me home afterwards."

He blinked. "But you will be staying at Temari's."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "But if you don't walk me home, you don't get to kiss me goodnight."

His expression cleared. "Then I will walk you home every night you are in Suna," He stole another kiss while she collapsed in giggles.


	34. Culture Clash

**2/20/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please.**

**I'm still working on my chapter for Miikodesu, who has reviewed so often I feel like I know her. =D Sorry it's taking so long, but school has consumed my life.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 34: Culture Clash**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Being woken by the sun spilling through the blinds made Gaara's top ten list of ways to be woken up. He turned over in the narrow bed, pushing the sheets down with his feet. Then he stood, stretched, and went to make coffee. Of course, as soon as the cup was in his grasp, a slim pale hand stole it from him.

"You shouldn't drink coffee this early," she said with a smile, her upper-class British accent stretching the 'coffee' to 'cou-fee.' Still meeting his gaze, she took a sip. "Hm, not bad. I suppose if one has to drink this wretched stuff, it should at least be high grade tar." She sipped again and grimaced. "My god, I miss tea…"

He chuckled. "Why is it that any rule you give me, you feel compelled to break?"

Setting the half-empty mug in the sink with on hand, she walked two fingers up his chest with the other. "Well, some rules are made to be broken, aren't they?"

She shivered as his hand ghosted over her waist, and she leaned up into his kiss.

…

"Efoncer la déplacer!" She yelled, and glared out the open window. "Honestly, the people in this city don't know how to drive."

"Maybe it's because you keep swearing at them in French?" he suggested. "This is Tokyo, after all. Most people here speak Japanese and a little English."

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'll swear at them in any language they like. I wouldn't have considered the exchange program if I'd known how insane the drivers were." She slammed her palm into the horn. "Sortez de la façon putain!"

He lifted a hand to hide his smirk. "Where did you learn your wonderful manners, Sakura?"

Her bright eyes flickered over the traffic, resting occasionally on Gaara's face. "I thought nothing could be worse than tourists in London, but they just had to prove me wrong-" she swerved to avoid a taxi and took a deep breath from her cigarette. "You should come back to England with me. I know you'd adore it."

He eyed her dyed pink hair speculatively. "I'm not so sure. Is everyone in Britain as rude and scary as you are?"

She smacked his shoulder with her free hand. "Don't be such an ass. In London we could take the Tube – that's the metro – everywhere. We could even take the Chunnel into France on holiday, if you want. That's where I learned my rather vivid swearing, you know. Some chums from my university took me over last summer, and we went to the seaside every day for a week." She sighed and glanced at him from under pale lashes. "Do you swim?"

He shook his head as they pulled into his apartment's parking garage. "Not very well. And my skin burns easily."

Her tongue clicked against the top of her mouth. "Well, we'll have to teach you. Didn't you go as a kid?"

"Once or twice. Temari pushed me into the water, and I built a sandcastle with Temari." He smiled faintly. "Kankuro was so afraid of the crabs on the beach that he wouldn't go into the water."

She giggled and parked the car. "Well there aren't any crabs at _my_ beach."

"So eager to get me out of my clothes, are we?" he teased, and she blushed bright red. "I-I wasn't thinking that, honestly. I just wanted to spend some time with you at the beach!"

He laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "I know. Maybe we could go while you're here."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Will there be ice cream?"

He feigned hurt. "What do you take me for? Of _course_ there will be ice cream."


	35. Taking Different Paths

**2/21/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please.**

**Dedicated to Miikodesu. =]**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishi.**

* * *

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 35: Taking Different Paths**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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"What was he to you?" Sasuke asked abruptly, eyes straying from his textbook.

She glanced up and took off her reading glasses. "Who?"

"Gaara." The word was tinged with distaste. "Sabaku no Gaara. The head of that art magazine you applied for, _Akasuna_."

"…Oh. He was…a friend. Just a friend from college." She leaned over the desk once more, determined to finish the storyboard.

Sasuke, reclining on the leather couch, eyed his wife meditatively.

…

The assistant led her into his office and shut the door, leaving her to examine the pictures on the walls of the stylish room. They were huge copies of spectacular cover art, and occasionally an inside flap. All at once she felt self-conscious, and wished she hadn't submitted her work.

"Excuse me, are you ?"

She stood abruptly and met striking green eyes. "Yes, I-" she realized who it was. "Oh my god, Gaara, I…"

He gazed at her, wide-eyed. "Sakura?"

She nodded.

He finally remembered to breathe. "It's been a long time." In a trance-like state, he shook her hand and walked around to the other side of the desk, where he sat down. "How have you been?"

In a similar state of awe, Sakura sank back into her chair. "Fine, I've been fine. How about you?"

He shrugged. "I'm doing well."

"Yes, I can see that."

The silence grew between them.

Gaara, recalling why she was there, looked down at the documents on his desk. "I've reviewed your portfolio with Kankuro – he's our editor in chief – and we'd like to hire you as a freelance agent. Your stuff is really spectacular."

Sakura blushed and looked down. "I'm happy to hear that. But I'll have to talk it over with my husband before I take the job."

He raised his eyebrows. "I believe you are married to Uchiha Sasuke, are you not? Head of the Uchiha law firm? Doubtless he will think this is a great opportunity for you."

She smiled and ran a hand through her short pink hair. "Maybe. I can never tell what he's thinking."

Gaara looked down. "I see. Well, would you like to take the paperwork home and look it over? You can make an appointment with my secretary if you'd like to accept, and we can work out the details of your employment. Is that alright?"

She nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Ga- oh, I'm sorry. Do you mind if I call you Gaara?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. And may I call you Sakura?"

She stood up, a grin still plastered over her face. "Of course. You know I'm so happy you've accomplished all this. I remember that you used to talk about how you were going to change the magazine, and you've really done it."

He smiled in return. "And you've become the artist of your dreams. Will I see you again?"

"You can count on it. I'll be back with the paperwork in a day or two." She shook his hand briskly and stood.

They walked to the door in silence, but when Gaara opened it for her, she turned around suddenly. He noticed, not for the first time, the way her lurid green eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled.

She stepped forward and gave him a brief bone crushing hug. "Goodbye, Gaara," she whispered, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "And thank you."

…

"That woman…" Matsuri began hesitantly, then stopped. She seemed to recompose herself and tried again. "Were you two…?"

Gaara signed the last line on the paper and handed it back to his wife. "Who are you referring to? And what are you talking about?"

She twisted back and forth nervously like a child. "Um, Uchiha Sakura, with the dyed pink hair. She applied for a job here, as a freelance agent, so you had an interview with her last week. Then you commissioned her for the cover piece this month. You know that I submitted my own piece…?"

He looked up sharply. "First of all, Matsuri, she was a friend from college, nothing more. I do not choose the cover for each edition; I merely approve choices made by our editors. Her submission was their choice, and it was pure coincidence that I knew her. And please understand that I will not be biased, not when the magazine is in question. Do not ask me to play favorites."

His stare unnerved her, making her anxiety more pronounced. "Ah, sorry. I understand."

She fell silent, still fidgeting, until he sighed and set down his pen. "Yes, Matsuri? Is there something else?

"I, um, I'm-" she caught Gaara's meaningful look and took a deep breath. "Gaara, I'm pregnant."

He went very still. "I see."

He sat back in his chair and laced his fingers together, as he always did when he was thinking. After a moment he stood up. "Go tell Temari the news. I will see to it that the proper arrangements are made." He walked out, hands in the pockets of his slacks.

Matsuri followed, unsure of the emotions she'd heard in his voice.

…

_It was late, and the library was almost deserted. Sakura bent over the thick paper, intent on her work, when a shadow crossed her light. Scowling in annoyance, she glanced up. "I'm using that light, you know-"_

_He caught her up in a kiss that left her breathless. "You shouldn't stay in here so late. It's bad for your eyes." He kissed her collarbone._

"_Like you would know anything about it," she said indignantly. "Is the door locked…?" her voice trailed off as his hand slipped beneath her shirt._

"_Yeah." He pulled a set of lock picks from his pocket with his free hand, letting them jangle for a moment before setting them on the table. "No interruptions."_

"_Be careful," she warned as he pressed her against the heavy oak table. "My latest designs are over there. If you ruin them, I'll kill you and make it look like an accident."_

_He laughed, and she ran her fingers through his dusty red hair in appreciation of the rare sound. "It always amazes me," she gasped as she worked to undo his belt, "that you can get into any place in town without keys."_

_He scoffed. "Keys are for the unimaginative." He groaned, lifting her onto the table to get better access to her neck._

_She giggled into his hair. "Quoting Tamora Pierce, are we?"_

"_Well," he panted, "she _is_ your favorite author."_

_She moaned beneath his hands and let her back arch. "And that," she breathed next to his ear, "is why you are about to get some amazing sex in the library." She kissed him again and didn't let him go._

* * *

**Continued in Chapter 37.**


	36. No Means No

**3/22/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. =)**

**For MasqueradeBall, who just rocks in general, and requested a sequel to chapter 4, **_**For the Record**_**. I hope you like it, Mad!**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.**

**

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 36: No Means No**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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Konami nursed her apple juice, looking bored, as Shikamaru-sensei taught the class about the ninja wars. She'd already read through the history books on Mom's lower bookshelves, and sometimes Dad would let her sit on his lap and he would describe the military maneuvers. Draining the cardboard box and crumpling it with two fingers, Kami tried to contain her frustration.

Beside her, Momori carefully concealed the picture of her mother's best friend, the future hokage. She sighed and rested a slightly chubby cheek on one fist. _Why were all the cool guys born in Mom's time? Uncle Naruto is just soooooo awesome. He's the son of Yondaime (who's pretty hunky too), and he contains the nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi. Will he ever notice me?_

Glancing out the window, she gasped. _Naruto-kun!_ He was walking past the classroom! She nudged Kami excitedly, and missed her sister's glare as she dutifully turned to see what was _so_ important. Then Kami saw who was walking next to him and yanked on her sister's collar.

"It's that creep from yesterday," she hissed in her twin's ear. "The one who Mom and I punched!"

Momo covered her mouth with her hands. "But he's standing next to Naruto-kun!"

Kami shot her a look. "But he's a bad guy."

Her hopelessly love stricken sister just sighed. "But he's standing next to _Naruto-kun_." Her eyes suddenly darkened. "He gets to stand next to _my_ Naruto-kun." Her hands balled into fists at her sides, and Kami smiled, knowing she had an ally in her Anti Uchiha Sasuke campaign.

The two girls spent the rest of the day with their heads together, pointedly ignoring everything that Shikamaru said, and planning their revenge on the last Uchiha. They missed the conversation between Naruto and Sasuke.

...

"-you can't be serious about this, Sasuke," Naruto objected, gesturing wildly. "She won't stop at punching you next time."

The dark haired man just stuck out his lower lip. "I'll make her see that I'm better for her."

"This may not be the best day to do that–"

Sasuke smirked at his blonde friend. "I appreciate the warning, but I'll be better prepared this time." He saluted grudgingly, Naruto being technically of a higher rank, and poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

...

"...Gaara..."

She gasped and then let out a low sound from the back of her throat. She was pressed up against the counter, and his arms were around her waist. His face pressed into the corner of his wife's neck, smelling her skin, appreciating her softness.

"...Saku..."

His gourd leaned next to the front door. He'd walked in as she was changing, and that was that.

"But Kami, and Momo...they'll be home soon...uhn..." she stopped trying to think and surrendered to his hands.

His shirt was off and the zipper on her skirt was loosening under his nimble fingertips when she decided to relocate to their bedroom. She pulled him by his sash into the entryway, never letting his lips leave hers. But just as they were fumbling past the front door, someone knocked.

Gaara snarled and reluctantly released the medic, who was frantically straightening her mussed hair. His strode to the door and wrenched it open, surprising Sasuke, who stood on the front porch.

"Um, is Sakura...home...?" He blinked and backed up a step.

Sabaku no Gaara, furious and shirtless, glared at him. "She is." His features seemed sharper, his hair a shock of bloody red. "Leave."

"Uh, yeah, I'll um, I'll just–" And then Sasuke, who had forgotten how terrifying the former jinchuuriki actually was, stumbled backwards and tripped on the steps.

Sakura leaned her head out of the door, trying not to laugh. "No means no, Sasuke." She rested a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "You should go before we get annoyed and kill you."

With one last mournful glance back at the house, Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke, rubbing his bruised tailbone.

Gaara shut the door harshly and lifted his wife up with a wolfish grin.

...

The twins, who were walking by on their way to Auntie Ino's house, doubled over laughing.

"Dad just, he just _looked_ at him–" Kami gasped, wiping her streaming eyes. A huge cheesy grin was plastered over her face, reminiscent of her Aunt Temari. "–and he fell on his butt!"

Momo sat down on the curb, unable to stop giggling. "And he couldn't even say anything back to Dad! He looked like he was about to pee his pants!"

The sisters stood up and laughed about it all the way down the street to Auntie Ino's house, where they told her and Uncle Choji about it. The two former teammates collapsed in laughter, and Choji went to tell Shikamaru, who happened to be sitting with Tenten and Neji. By the end of the day, half the village knew that Gaara had scared Sasuke witless with a single look.


	37. Crossroads

**3/22/11 – 3/23/11 (It's midnight, okay? Jeeze. =D)**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. =)**

**For JaJa-Princess, who requested a second part to chapter 35, **_**Taking Different Paths**_**.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.**

**

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 37: Crossroads**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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"_I'm pregnant. Gaara, I'm pregnant."_

It was nearly a year later, but the words still echoed through his head as he went about his work. He finished negotiating a new contract with the printer, who was constantly trying to raise his already premium rates. Then he sat down for coffee, which was delivered by his new assistant. After Matsuri's announcement, he'd forbidden her to work, worried that the stress would affect her. The doctor had assured him that she could continue to work for another few months, but Gaara had wanted to take no chance with her health.

But that was before the miscarriage. Before she'd left him.

Thrusting thoughts of his ugly divorce from his mind, he tried to focus on the papers in his hand. It wasn't easy. He kneaded his forehead lightly with a knuckle. Why did it all have to be so tedious?

A sound made him look up and smile slightly. Sakura, _Akasuna_'s Art Director for nearly two months now, was taking a seat across from him, settling her laptop on the desk and shedding her jacket. In her right hand she clutched a cup of coffee. "Having good day?" She asked, slightly out of breath from the stairs. "Because I'm not. So you better have something to cheer me up." She cracked her knuckles absentmindedly.

"Don't do that," he said automatically.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Crack your knuckles," he explained dryly. "It can cause arthritis, which would prove detrimental for an artist such as yourself."

"I see." She smirked. "Now you sound like the pre-medical student I met in college, before you went into business. Didn't you change majors like six times?"

Gaara sighed. "Four. I began as a pre-med student, changed to law in an attempt to impress father, and had a brief foray into design, which I sucked at."

"Only because you hardly showed up for class," Sakura argued as she took a sip of her coffee. "Your work was pretty good, and you had the best color theory of anyone in our class."

One side of his mouth rose in a half-smile. "Be that as it may, I then changed to environmental science by accident, and I discovered that I hated it. I finished in business because I'd realized by that point that neither Kankuro nor Temari was interested in running _Akasuna_." He took a deep swallow of the scalding liquid. "I wonder what it would be like if either of them had taken over."

Sakura laughed. "If Kankuro took over _Akasuna_ it would become a porno, for sure."

That startled a chuckle out of him. "I agree. Let's toast to the continued innocence of _Akasuna_'s readers."

They let their styrofoam cups knock together gently and finished their drinks.

...

Dinner was nice, but Sakura didn't really notice. She was engrossed in the new photographs taken for the next issue's cover. "Sasuke, you should really see these, they're fantastic–"

"I want you to quit," he interrupted.

She looked up in shock, not sure she'd heard correctly. He was staring at her intently, fingers drumming on the table. Her plate was untouched, but he'd already gone through half the bottle of red.

"You what?" Her blood was pounding. "But I – I've worked my whole life to get this job." She didn't understand where this had come from.

"It's consuming your life," he said in his blunt manner. "I almost never see you at home anymore; even on your day off you're constantly on your laptop, or calling the office. Or in a meeting with _Gaara_." His face turned a little colder. "Are you sleeping with him?"

Sakura's mouth opened in shock. "What? You're accusing me of having an affair? With _Gaara?_"

Sasuke picked up his wineglass and sloshed the liquid around. "I looked into it a few months ago. Your college years. He was more than a friend."

Sinking backwards in her seat, Sakura realized that she was still gaping. "You ran a background check. On _me_. Your _wife_."

He smirked coolly. "Good thing I did, too. Tell me, was he as good a lover as he is a boss?"

She stood and slapped him. "Don't expect me to be home when you get there." She picked up her purse and carefully placed the developed photographs in a plastic case. Then she walked away, pausing only to say, "Consider this a declaration of my intention to get a divorce."

He watched her go, disbelief clear in his features. "You're choosing that stupid magazine over me?"

Hearing him, she turned at the threshold, her green eyes glaring. "I'm choosing my _life_, Sasuke, over the one you've chosen for me." She pulled open the door and stepped through.

...

"–and then he has the audacity to tell me that he ran a background check on me. Who was he trying to fool? He was just being a jealous bastard," Sakura said viciously, biting into her sandwich. "I've been staying at Ino's since then."

Gaara's fingers were laced beneath his chin as he considered what she'd said. "Perhaps you should have told him."

Sakura raked a free hand through her short hair. "Tell him what? 'Sasuke, dearest, you might not remember it now, but I sort of lied to you about my boss. You know, Gaara? Well, we used to have sex four times a week for more than a year.'" She snorted. "I'm sure that would go over really well with him."

"I might have put it more tactfully. In any case, is there some merit to what he says?" He carefully stared at his food so he wouldn't have to meet her gaze.

"What do you mean?" She'd spent the better part of a week wondering how long her impending divorce would take considering that Sasuke's family owned a law firm. Today she'd been trying very hard to contain her anger with Sasuke, but coffee and nourishment had loosened her tongue. "Are you talking about the work thing?"

"Exactly." He set down his sandwich. "I've been thinking of giving you an assistant, to take part of your workload."

"I'm perfectly capable of handling it," she huffed. "Have I been doing something wrong?"

"No, not at all. I just don't want it to 'consume your life.'" He glanced out the window. "My mother was the Art Director nearly thirty years ago." He looked down. "She died giving birth to me because her body had been weakened by overwork."

Slowly, Sakura leaned across the desk and covered his hand with hers. "I'm sorry, Gaara. I can see why you're concerned."

His blue-green gaze met hers. "Do you? Will you agree to appoint an assistant? Or at least to delegate? You don't delegate nearly enough, even though you're hiring four new freelance designers and a department manager. And we have the new interns for you to scare."

She smiled. "You're right, of course. You're always right. I've just been so worried about doing things wrong that I've been trying to do everything." She rubbed her eyes tiredly and glanced at her watch. "Lunch is almost over, boss."

His grin was crooked. "Of course, underling."

She stood to leave, and he unthinkingly stood as well, his manners kicking in. He held the door open for her, as he did every day after their lunch. She walked past him with a smile and a flash of her green eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gaara."

"But tomorrow's Saturday, Sakura."

She blinked, realizing how close he was, and felt the old attraction return in a rush. "We can still have lunch, can't we?"

Gaara nodded, his eyes darkening slightly. "I'll call you tomorrow, Sakura."

She walked down the stairs happier than she'd been in a long time, wondering if she had just crossed the line between boss/friend and possible lover.

_We'll just have lunch tomorrow,_ she told herself firmly. _After that – well, we'll see if we can do it better the second time._


	38. A Dish Best Served Cold

**3/23/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. =)**

**I was watching a lot of **_**Law & Order: SVU**_** today, so I'm on a crime spree. =D**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.**

**

* * *

**

**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 38: A Dish Best Served Cold**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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They got the call at around seven in the evening. Kankuro turned on the siren, and Gaara spoke over the old crackly radio, checking in with the police center.

"Yeah, we'll take it. It's at the Hyuuga residence, right?"

The woman on the other end answered affirmatively. "Be careful. The woman's armed with a baseball bat and a knife she took from the kitchen."

Kankuro swore and turned a hard corner.

...

She was a racer, so her muscles were toned, but no wrestling club could have prepared her for this. This was what you got when you raced for years and years and you knew that either you or your opponent was going to be going to prison for illegal racing. As the baseball bat hit him again and again, with satisfying thuds, she heard him yelling.

_Never._

-Thunk-

_Fucking._

-Thunk-

_Touch._

-Thunk-

_Her._

-Thunk-

_Again._

-Crunch-

She stepped back for a moment and surveyed her work coldly.

"You deserve what you're about to get," she whispered, and brought the aluminum bat up for another swing.

...

It was almost over. Kankuro was getting the witness's statements, and Gaara was holding down the pink haired woman while he pulled out his handcuffs.

"Haruno Sakura, you're under arrest for the assault of Hyuuga Hiashi–" He tried to get the lock to click as he stated her rights, but she cut him off, snarling.

"Let me fucking go and I'll make it _manslaughter_, you hear me? Get your filthy fucking hands off me!" She twisted deftly, managing to get one hand free. She shoved Gaara backwards. "I'm going to fucking _kill_ that incestuous rapist! _Bastard!_" She caught sight of Hiashi as he staggered out of the house, fighting off Gaara as she yelled. "You're going to die, you fucking sleazebag! And I'm going to be the one to do it!" Her words became muffled as Gaara shoved her into the backseat of the police car.

Sighing, Gaara wiped his forehead and turned to his brother. Kankuro was done talking to the witnesses, and he filled Gaara in. "The woman's name is Haruno Sakura, 19 years old, a freshman at Konoha University. She arrived at roughly 6:30, broke in somehow, and waited in the living room for Hyuuga to return from work. She then proceeded to beat seven kinds of hell out of him before his screams alerted one of the maids." He sighed. "The maid went to get help, Sakura grabbed a knife from the kitchen, and carved her initials in the back of each of his hands."

Gaara raised an eyebrow. "Literally?"

"Yes, literally. It says 'H.S.' on the back of his hands, in bloody block caps. She may have to stand trial for torture as well as assault."

They climbed into the police car and drove her back to the police station, where she was released, finally quiet, into the custody of the station's jailer.

...

She was questioned later that night by Sergeant Temari, who calmly reminded her of her rights and the charges against her. Then she pushed the file aside and clasped her hands on the desk in front of her. "So why did you attack Hyuuga Hiashi tonight? What prompted this."

Sakura sullenly stared at the blonde woman. "I'm sorry, did you not hear me screaming at him? I said, he _raped_ her."

"Raped who?" Temari asked quietly. "Who did he rape that warranted you beating him to within an inch of his life?"

The pink haired woman threw her a look of disgust. "I would have taken the extra inch if you fucking cops hadn't gotten in my way."

"You still haven't answered my question. Who did he rape?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "That fucking creep raped one of my best friends, Hyuuga Hinata."

The blonde's eyes widened. "But she's–"

"His daughter," Sakura finished, her voice cold. "I know. Why the hell do you think I was trying to kill him?"

...

Sabaku no Temari opened an investigation, with her brothers as her team. Sakura gave them her statement. Hinata, once she was found cowering in Sakura's apartment with the clear signs of sexual assualt, gave hers as well.

Hiashi was arrested the next day. He was still in the hospital at the time, so his trial was postponed until the doctor released him.

No one was sure if Hiashi was pressing charges since he was unconscious from a surgery. As it was, the charges against Sakura still held sway, but they were made by a man who was clearly guilty of raping his eldest daughter. As a compromise, Sakura was given an ankle bracelet with GPS tracking device in it; if she left the city, they would know.

She wasn't planning on going anywhere before this creep was tried for his crimes.

...

It had taken two days, two _agonizing_ days, for them to let her out of the holding cell at the police station. But now she was behind the wheel, where she belonged, so nothing else mattered.

The import models on the side of the road were cheering, arms hooked around drivers, friends, and mechanics.

"READY."

There came the loudspeaker. She looked back and checked her infusion tanks; the chemical compound was her own recipe.

"SET."

She shifted her grip on the steering wheel and revved the engine.

"_DRIVE!"_

The cars shot forward, flying down the darkened street. Twisting, turning, dodging each other and anything that got in the way. The other cars were pulling ahead, already using their booster mixes. She smiled slightly. She could wait.

She wasn't in first place, which she could handle, because this wasn't the serious part yet. No, when they got in range of the train station, that's when you went hot.

She smiled and turned up the radio until the song was thudding through the entire car.

...

Gaara gripped her upper arm and dragged her towards her house. "What the hell were you thinking?" He hissed, shoving her towards her back door.

"I was just out for a drive!" She whispered back furiously. "Is that a crime now?"

He threw her a look. "If it had been anyone else who saw you racing, you'd be locked up again, and you'd have no chance of having the charges dropped at trial."

Sakura fumbled for her keys. "That old bastard deserves every year he gets and more. I hope he remembers what he's done every day for the rest of his miserable life." The door opened with a click, and Gaara stepped in after her.

"He may deserve it. But you don't deserve to go to jail for serving justice," he said quietly.

Sakura looked back at him, openmouthed. "Are you saying I did the right thing, even though it was illegal?"

He looked slightly uncomfortable. "I'm saying that if my father had done that to Temari, I would have killed him outright, whatever the consequences."

She smiled. "I knew I liked you. You want some coffee?"

The redheaded cop took a seat, rubbing his face wearily. "Yeah, thanks. No sugar, one cream." He sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if our laws are harsh enough."

She snorted. "It's your job to approve and love and cherish and carry out every law our country's made. Don't you try to uphold the law at every turn? You're a cop."

"So you keep telling me," he grumbled, and she giggled. "Listen, Sakura. I won't tell Temari about this, but you should stop racing. It's dangerous, not only because of the combustible substances but because of the possible ramifications in your court case."

Sakura turned towards the darkened window. "Sorry, Gaara, but that's what I do. I race, and you chase."

He nodded, going to the door. "I wish it didn't have to be that way, Sakura." He stepped outside.

She remained at the window for some time. "Me too, Gaara."


	39. Shoot 'Em Up

**3/23/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. =)**

**I know this is kind of a weird mix of Japanese names and cowboy themes, but I liked the idea. =D**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.**

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**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 39: Shoot 'Em Up**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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They lived next door to each other for most of their childhoods. His father was the sheriff of their little dusty southern town, and her mother was the local doctor. They spent their days sitting around on the porch in front of the general store or playing Bubblegum Blues, a rhyming game, with his siblings. They begged their parents for pennies to buy candy or cool drinks and they played with the stray dogs that roamed their little town.

And then when she was ten her mother died, and her mother's brother, a state marshal, got word of it. He rode in with his men, pretty as you please, and talked to the sheriff for a long hour. When he left, he took her with him.

...

They saw each other again when she was seventeen. She'd been training as a doctor at the military camp where she lived with her uncle, and when Sheriff Sabaku took ill she was called in. He lay sleeping on a camp bed in the house where Sakura had lived, which still held the tools and decaying medicines from nearly seven years earlier.

"It's tuberculosis, the consumption," she said quietly to the sheriff's three children. "And it's much too far along for anyone to do anything about it. When he starts to hack up blood, you make sure to call me. I'll bring some morphine."

Temari burst into tears, and Kankuro led her outside so that she could breathe. "We'll be back in a minute," he called. "Holler if something happens." He led his older sister into the shade behind the old doctor's house, where she could cry in peace.

The youngest boy stayed behind with Sakura. His face was paler than usual, and he held his father's hand like a lifeline. "How long do you think he'll have?"

Sighing tiredly, Sakura wiped her brow. "A few weeks at most. He should have come see a doctor as soon as he started coughing. He might have had a fever recently, or seemed to be losing weight. I can give him antibiotics, but it's done so much damage that the drugs will just prolong his suffering." She looked almost fondly at the brunette man sleeping in front of her. He'd been her hero for a time, a superhero in an otherwise dreary town.

Gaara seemed to be in shock; he was abnormally calm. "I'll let everyone know," he said through numb lips. He made his way to the door and stepped outside, where the dust spun around him, clogging the air.

...

Two years later they danced at a party at the fort; Gaara had been made the new sheriff of another town, just a little ways away from Sakura's home.

"You look very good," he said quietly as they twirled. "I almost didn't recognize you."

She laughed aloud. "Nor I you, in all your sheriff's finery. How are Temari and Kankuro?" She tilted her head, pink hair curled and pinned beneath a lacey bonnet.

"They're fine," he replied. "Temari got married last month – some city boy who can take apart an automobile and put it back together again blindfolded." He scowled slightly.

Sakura nudged him playfully. "Well, tell her I said congratulations, and I hope their children are as beautiful as she is." She slowly spun in time as the dance ended and everyone clapped.

Gaara smiled at her. "Would you like to accompany me on a walk, Miss Haruno?"

Matching his over-formality, she took his arm. "I believe I would, Sheriff Sabaku."

...

He rose before dawn, turning over in the narrow bed and leaning on one elbow. "I can't stay," he whispered. "The marshal's expecting me in town tomorrow morning."

She turned around so he wouldn't see her bite her lip. "I know. Just leave."

He pulled on his pants, checking the holsters on his belt, and buttoned up his shirt. "Bye, Sakura. I'll see you next time I'm in town." He walked out into the sunlight.

Sniffling a little, she got dressed and made the bed. Then she went to the little wooden table in one corner of the room and took out her guns, which she then disassembled and began to clean. "He's just some stupid Sheriff's boy," she muttered. "Some kid with a couple of guns and a holier-than-thou father." She finished cleaning the weapons and put them back together, being sure to load them. Then she pulled the ammo belt over her arm crosswise, like a sash.

She didn't flinch when the door opened and a blonde headed boy grinned at her. "It's time Sheriff Sabaku got his own room here, eh Sakura?"

She ignored him, put on her hat and pulled her bandana up around her mouth and nose, to keep the gritty dust out of her lungs. "Let's ride."


	40. Bulletproof

**3/29/11**

**Requests are open. Comment, please. =)**

**Requested by shadow-assassin67, who wanted Gaara to have to choose between Sakura and his responsibilities. By the way, are you really 44 years old?**

**Anyways, I'm trying to limit the dialogue in this chapter, because I've realized how much I use it, and I want to try writing effectively without so much **_**talking**_**. =D**

**Thank you guys so much for 100 reviews! They're greatly appreciated. =)**

**At 150, I'm taking a special request, where you can ask for a double shot AND you can give me a theme or song AND you can give me a second pairing to be included in the fic.**

–**Blue**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

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**The Medic and the Demon**

**Chapter 40: Bulletproof**

**by Rachel Poulson**

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It was beautiful, like a painting, with actors on stage in elaborate costumes, and a crowd laughing in all the right places. Then the music ended, and the performers took their bows, and all eyes were suddenly drawn to the police officers spilling into the opera hall. The uniformed men and women began to shout, and the audience members scrambled towards the emergency exits, and no one knew what was going on, but they were terrified in any case.

He stood still, alone in the heaving throng of people. His hard eyes, greener now with anger, but usually blue, searched for a bright head of hair. He couldn't find her.

Then a small hand tugged at his jacket's sleeve from his other side; it was her, his bodyguard, Sakura, begging him to run with her. She was wearing a red blouse and black pinstriped pants, and he knew for a fact that she had twelve concealed weapons around her body; it would not be good if the police found those. He followed her wordlessly out of the private box.

They mingled with the sea of panicked bodies, taking the red covered stairs and following the directions of a cop. Listening with some difficulty to the screams around them, they managed to determine that the downtown police station got an anonymous tip that there would be an armed robbery of the gallery on the first floor of the opera house. The police were holding them, but they wanted to evacuate the civilians just in case.

As he turned a corner in the lobby he heard the sound of gunshots, and screams. He tensed automatically, his hand reaching towards the inside left hand pocket of his jacket, where his own gun sat holstered.

But the narrow hall was being choked with police, forcing back the intruders. Grabbing Sakura's hand, he towed her towards one of the side rooms determined to get her to safety.

More gunshots. More yelling.

Sakura's fighting him, telling him to go first, she's supposed to protect him, and he hesitates. He wants to listen to her, but he doesn't want her to get hurt. She's not even on duty, for Christ's sake. It was supposed to be a night out at the opera, no politics or siblings, just relaxing with a friend.

The police are having trouble keeping the gunmen at bay, and terror is a growing feeling in the crowd.

Another spray of bullets.

Sakura tugged at him viciously, pulling him roughly towards the door, and he stumbles into through the open doorway. He's surprised at her; even in a state of emergency she never panics. Then he turned back, saw the blood, so much blood, and his eyes widened. He could feel himself yelling to her, see the shock in her face as she clutched a hand to the gaping wound in her side.

He dove to her side, placing his palm over hers, keeping pressure on the bullet hole. He can hear the yells around him, as the fucking police _finally_ realize who he is and scramble to protect him, like they should have done before Sakura had to take a bullet for him.

He pushed them away, cradling her to his chest as he felt the warm life seeping from the hole in her flesh. Her eyes were glazed with agony, but she recognized him. "Is this–" she coughed suddenly, a bright, evil red. She tried again. "Is this death?"

He was frozen with terror for one moment; her jade green eyes seemed to be looking through him, at something that wasn't there. "No, Sakura, of course not; death doesn't have fluorescent lighting." He realized he was rambling, saying anything to keep her aware of his presence.

"Stay with me, Sakura," he whispered to her, leaning over to shield her further, though he knew that the police were all around them now. "Don't you dare go anywhere."

She just looked up at him through lidded eyes, mouth open wide as she struggled for air, keeping the pain at bay. "U-understood," – she gasped, wincing as his grip shifted – "Kazekage-sama." Her eyes betrayed the pain though.

Gaara barked an order at one of the policemen standing next to him, and the man hastened to comply. Carefully easing off the wound, he lifted her and pulled her into the safety of the room, where several medics were already administering to the injured. As one of them got to work on Sakura, he argued fiercely with a sergeant, who insisted that he leave now.

"Can she be moved safely?" Gaara asked the medic brusquely, furious with the gunmen and the policemen and Sakura for putting his safety before her own.

The medic shook his head.

Gaara turned back to the policemen, his expression stony. "I'm staying here. Get the civilians out of here as quickly as possible, deal with the intruders as you see fit, but I'm staying with my bodyguard." He heard a noise at his back and turned to Sakura, who was beckoning with her hand as the pain medication set in. "What is it, Sakura? What do you need?"

She shook her head slightly. "Thanks," she murmured as the medic finished his quick bandaging of the wound.

His brow crinkled. "For what?" _You're the one that took the bullet for _me_._

But she had fallen unconscious, and he took her hand, sad and scared and frustrated, and stayed with her until she woke up.


End file.
